


In Any Universe

by Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Homophobia, Kid Fic, M/M, Mpreg, Mpreg Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:10:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 55,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6278434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseafrew/pseuds/Chelsea%20Frew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Louis are happy. Yes, they are closeted, but they love each other and love their jobs as members of One Direction. Their happiness is shattered when they are in a car accident and Louis wakes up having forgotten the last five years of his life. He doesn't remember being on <i>The X-Factor</i>, being a part of One Direction or, most devastating, Harry. Estranged from the love of his life when Louis retreats to what he does remember, Harry discovers that he's pregnant. What will he do if Louis doesn't recover his memory, and he's faced with being a single parent? What will he do without Louis?</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Any Universe

**Author's Note:**

> This story was definitely more challenging to write than I originally thought, but I made it through, and now I'm sending it out into the world. It is worth noting that I based this story on the movie _The Vow_ , so any similarity is there for a reason. 
> 
> This story would not exist without the help of my BFF [Cori Lannam](http://archiveofourown.org/users/corilannam/pseuds/Cori%20Lannam). She listened to my rambles about the plot, helped me sort through plot points, then beta'd the story, helping me make it much better than it would have been without her intervention. Any errors left are mine, and mine alone.
> 
> Medical consultation was performed by Noel, who is the best neonatologist I know! Any medical inaccuracies are not her fault.
> 
> My artist, Kris--found at [birdstattoo](http://birdstattoo.tumblr.com/)\--provided both a beautiful piece of art and a playlist. The art is seen below. The playlist can be found at [Our Hands Grow Numb](http://8tracks.com/andthemoons/our-hands-grow-numb). I cannot thank her enough for the care she took with both to make sure they matched the mood of my story.
> 
> Thanks, also, to the Big Bang mods for running this challenge and letting me play in it for a second time. I truly enjoyed the experience.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys the story. Please don't hesitate to leave me feedback. Now, on with the story....
> 
>   
> 

_HARRY_

Three words were all it took for Harry's world to come crashing down around him. Three innocent words that tore through Harry's heart, leaving it decimated and shattered into a million pieces. Three syllables that would forever separate his life into Before and After.

_"Who are you?"_

For a moment, there had been joy. Harry had only been a little banged up and bruised after the car accident, but Louis had hit his head on the windscreen on impact, and had been unconscious for four days, put in a medically-induced coma to heal his brain.

Harry had been worried sick, and he had stayed at Louis' side as much as the doctors and nurses would allow. He'd rung Liam and Niall, and both of them had come to spell him long enough for him to get in a couple showers and a few hours of sleep.

In the middle of the afternoon, four days after Harry and Louis had gotten into an accident on their way home from a weekend visit to Harry's family, and two hours after the doctors had stopped the medicine keeping him in the coma, Louis had blinked his eyes open, moaning at whatever pain he had to be feeling. Harry had been holding Louis' hand at that time, and Louis had--no doubt unconsciously--squeezed Harry's hand as he awoke.

Harry had been dozing in the chair he'd stationed right near the head of the hospital bed, but upon feeling the squeeze, he dropped Louis' hand and pressed the call button to summon a nurse. He also leaped up to alert Preston to find a doctor, doubling his chances of getting someone there quickly. Harry quickly returned to Louis' side after Preston set off down the hall.

Louis blinked open his eyes, then his gaze bounced around the room for several seconds before landing on Harry.

Harry grinned down at Louis. "Hey there," he greeted him. "Good to see you awake."

Louis furrowed his brow and frowned. He peered at Harry through narrowed eyes. "I'm sorry. Who are you?"

Harry had just been about to pick up Louis' hand again. Instead, Louis' words made him involuntarily take a step back, looking down at Louis with horror.

Louis' face brightened ever so slightly, as if he'd realised something. "Are you my doctor?"

Harry slowly shook his head from side to side, fighting down the panic coursing through his body. "No," he answered Louis in a whisper, the loudest sound he could muster.

Confusion clouded Louis' features once again. "A nurse, then?" he tried.

With tears pooling in his eyes, Harry shook his head again. "Louis…. You really don't know me?"

It was Louis' turn to shake his head. "Am I supposed to?" He narrowed his eyes, staring right at Harry, then closed his eyes, wrinkling his forehead in pain. "I'm guessing I'm supposed to."

"Yes," Harry confirmed, voice hitching. "I'm your boyfriend."

Louis' eyes grew wide, shaking his head again. "No. You're not."

Harry nodded as what felt like stones settled in his stomach. "I am."

"You can't be. I'm not gay," Louis stated with absolute certainty.

There was no time for Harry to protest Louis' assertion. The neurologist in charge of Louis' care, Dr. Nash, chose this moment to appear on the scene. Harry already knew her well; she had been wonderful in keeping Harry--as Louis' next of kin--up to date with how Louis was doing. "Louis, it's great to see you awake!" she said brightly, passing where Harry stood--still in shock--to get to her patient. "How are you feeling?"

"He doesn't know who I am," Harry informed her before Louis had a chance to say anything.

Dr. Nash frowned and, pointing back at Harry, met Louis' gaze. "You don't remember Harry?"

Louis shook his head yet again. "No. No. I…no." That Louis felt he needed to repeat his response with such vehemence felt like a dagger to Harry's heart.

"What's the last thing you remember, Louis?" the doctor asked.

Louis took a moment to think back, then answered, "I'm in the middle of revising for my A levels. They start next week. We took a break to go to a concert. Did something happen at the show?"

"We?" Dr. Nash prompted him to say more.

"Me and Hannah. My girlfriend," Louis stated.

The stones in Harry's stomach shifted, making him feel ill. He could not help staring at Louis as if he were an alien that had possessed Louis' body. Louis had not had a girlfriend for more than five years, not since Harry and Louis had met and been put together in a band on _The X-Factor_.

"Did something happen at the show?" Louis questioned again, avoiding Harry's gaze.

"You were in a car accident," Dr. Nash reported ambiguously, not offering more than the bare minimum of explanations.

"Was Hannah hurt?" Louis was quick to check.

"Hannah wasn't in the car with you," the doctor revealed, still cautious with her words.

Louis sighed with relief. "Good. But I still don't understand why he--" he pointed at Harry, "--thinks he's my boyfriend, though. I have a girlfriend, I'm not gay. He must have me confused with someone else."

"Okay. We can talk more about this later. Let's go ahead and check to see what's going on with your head." She withdrew a pen light from the breast pocket of her white coat. Putting her finger under Louis' left eye, she shone her light into it, then repeated this procedure with his right eye. "Well, you are definitely still concussed, just as you were when you arrived. That makes sense, given the severity of your head injury. We'll need to do a CAT scan to check on what's going on now we've gotten you awake. We took one when you first arrived, and it showed some swelling, then another yesterday which showed the swelling was lessening. I want to see if that's still the case."

"Will the new CAT scan tell why he doesn't remember me?" Harry wanted to know.

"It might," the doctor replied. "As I know you're aware, he took quite a hit on the head. Today's scan should show us the effects the impact is still having on his brain." She pressed the red call button Harry had used earlier, and the action produced two nurses who arrived in quick succession.

Dr. Nash turned to face her colleagues. "Can you prep Mr. Tomlinson for a CAT scan?"

"Of course," the male nurse said, already making his way to Louis' bedside. The female nurse went back into the hallway. Harry presumed she was going to get whatever device they would use to transport Louis to the imaging centre.

"Louis, these nurses will help you get ready to be scanned," Dr. Nash told him. "Harry, can you join me in the hall?"

Harry nodded. Sparing one more pained glance at Louis, he followed the petite doctor into the hall. The second the door was closed behind him, Harry turned on Dr. Nash to none-too-kindly ask, "What's wrong with him? Why can't he remember me?"

The doctor laid a soothing hand on Harry's arm. "Harry, you need to calm down."

"How can I calm down?" he yelled, pulling his arm away from her. When several people in the hall looked over to see what the problem was, Harry hauled in a shaky, deep breath, then forced himself to speak in a softer voice. "My boyfriend doesn't know who I am. He doesn't even remember he's gay."

Unperturbed by Harry's obvious anguish, Dr. Nash reached out for his forearm again. "I know this is not what you were expecting when Louis woke up. Like I warned you before we released Louis from the coma, head injuries can have all sorts of effects, and amnesia is one of them. We're going to do the CAT scan, and that should tell us if there continues to be any swelling in Louis' brain. Though the coma took care of a lot of it, I suspect there's still some left which has yet to go down."

"When the swelling goes down all the way, will his memory come back?" Harry inquired.

"There's no way of knowing. It might, it might not," she told him, grounding her diagnosis in reality. "I have had patients recover all their memories, and I have had others who never have. Head injuries aren't predictable, but are, rather, unique from person to person. We're all just going to need to be patient."

At that moment, the nurses emerged from Louis' hospital room, Louis ensconced in a wheelchair being pushed by the male nurse. Harry absently noted the nurse's name tag read "Dylan." Dylan informed Dr. Nash, "I think we're ready to go."

"Can I come, too?" Harry wondered aloud.

The doctor checked out the pained look which crossed Louis' face at Harry's question. "Why don't you go get some coffee, maybe a sandwich?" she kindly suggested to Harry. "We'll be back in about thirty minutes."

Harry knew when he wasn't wanted, and he reluctantly nodded. "I'll be here when you get back, Lou."

Louis executed a terse nod, then turned his attention away from Harry. It felt like that dagger already there was twisted around in Harry's heart, pulverising it.

Mournfully, Harry watched as the small party--including Preston--headed down the hall toward the imaging centre. Then he backed up until he hit the wall behind him and he slid down, knees up, and placed his face in his hands. The tears came pouring forth, streaming down his cheeks mercilessly.

He didn't know how long he'd been crying when a gentle hand landed on his knee. Harry lifted his head to find Niall squatting in front of him, profound concern etched on his face. "What's going on, H? Is Louis okay?"

Harry was just about to explain to Niall what was going on when his stomach roiled. He covered his mouth and quickly worked on standing. Niall, sensing what was going on, grabbed Harry's arm and helped him up. Niall glanced left down the hall, then right. Harry prayed he was searching for the toilets. "This way," he urged Harry, leading him the three or four steps to a men's room.

Harry didn't quite make it to a stall, throwing up into the sink closest to the door. Niall held Harry's hair back and rubbed his back soothingly as Harry retched until all he was doing was dry heaving through residual sobs from his earlier breakdown. When he was done, Niall handed him a paper towel, and Harry rinsed his mouth out. Twice.

Finally, Harry swiveled on his heel to look at Niall. "Sorry about that."

Niall shook his head vigorously. "It's okay. It's been a long week."

"Thanks for taking care of me," Harry went on to say.

"You don't have to thank me for that," Niall scoffed. "Now, do you think you can fill me in on what's going on with Louis?"

"Maybe we shouldn't do that here in the toilet," Harry said ruefully.

Niall nodded, then followed Harry through the door, back into the hallway. They stopped when they were once again next to Louis' door.

Harry drew in a deep breath before reporting, "Louis woke up."

The look on Niall's face morphed into one of confusion. "Isn't that a good thing? The doctors wouldn't have brought him out of the coma if he wasn't ready."

"He doesn't…. He can't…." Harry struggled to find just the right words. "He didn't recognise me. Ni. He doesn't know who I am."

Niall gasped. "When did this happen? Why didn't you call?"

"It was just a little while ago," Harry told him. "They've taken him up for a CAT scan."

"Oh, Harry," Niall breathed out softly. "I'm so sorry."

"You should have seen the way he looked at me," Harry lamented, the shock still fresh. "It wasn't just that he didn't recognise me. He looked appalled when I told him he was my boyfriend. Like it was the worst news in the world."

Niall reached over to grab Harry in a fierce hug. "I'm so, so sorry, Harry."

Harry burst into tears once more and sobbed into Niall's shoulder for a few minutes, then made himself stop.

Niall graced him with time to collect himself before inquiring, "What did the doctor say?"

"That there's no way of knowing what will happen," Harry replied. "The CAT scan will tell if there's still swelling inside his head. He may get his memories back when the swelling goes down, or he may not."

"Then it's possible this is just temporary?" Niall checked.

Harry nodded. "But, Niall, what do I do if it's not?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it," Niall proposed in what Harry knew he was forcing to be an upbeat tone.

Harry pulled in another deep breath, exhaling slowly, and nodded in acknowledgement of Niall's proposition.

"Now, did they say how long the scan would take?" Niall wanted to know.

"About thirty minutes."

"Perfect! Time for a cup of tea to settle your stomach, and we can call Liam to give him the news." Niall reached behind to place a hand on Harry's back, gently guiding him in the direction of the cafeteria.

Harry followed blindly. There was nothing else he could do.

* * *

Niall rang Liam--just to tell him Louis was awake; the rest could wait--while forcing a large cup of tea on Harry. Liam promised he was on the way before Niall and Harry headed back up to Louis' room to await his return from the scan.

Dr. Nash and the nurse who had taken Louis for the scan arrived back with their patient not too long after Niall and Harry had gotten back to the room themselves.

Louis looked warily from Harry to Niall as Dylan helped him slide back into bed. As Louis reached for the sheet to cover himself up, he directly appraised Niall. Wearily, he wondered aloud. "Am I supposed to know you, too?"

"I'm Niall," Niall told him amiably. "We're friends. We're in a band together." Harry supposed that it was not quite the right time to alert Louis to the fact that he was not just in a band, but he was a member of the world's biggest boy band.

"How did the scan go?" Harry asked the doctor.

"There's definitely still swelling, though it has gone down since the last scan," Dr. Nash reported. "I do think it's what's causing the memory loss."

"Do you have any idea whether the memory loss is permanent or not?" Harry continued.

"The scan was never going to tell us that," the doctor replied. "I'd guess that the swelling will take a few more days to go down, then we'll see what's going on."

"Hey," Louis interjected. "Why are you sharing my medical information with him? Where are my parents? Shouldn't they be here?"

For what felt like the hundredth time, Harry drew in a deep breath. "You haven't talked to them in years, Louis. I'm listed as your next of kin."

"But I don't _know_ you," Louis protested.

"He's your boyfriend," Niall jumped into the conversation.

Louis shook his head with utter conviction. "I'm sure you're a very nice person, but I am not gay," Louis insisted. "I'm supposed to believe that suddenly I realised I was into guys and dumped Hannah to go out with you?"

"Well, you make it sound pretty crass, and it wasn't," Harry contended. "But that's more or less what happened."

"I don't believe you," Louis said stubbornly. He reached his hands up to his temple, pressing at either side, obviously in pain. "I can't deal with this. Can you just go?"

"Louis…." Harry began to stage a protest, but Dr. Nash shook her head and touched Harry's forearm in much the same manner as she had in the hallway earlier.

"Louis has been through a lot these last few days," the doctor reminded him. "Why don't we give him some time to rest?"

Harry strongly considered arguing--he needed to make Louis understand who he was--when Louis slumped down against his pillows, closing his eyes. It was clear Louis had had enough for one day. "Okay," Harry reluctantly agreed.

"You can come back bright and early tomorrow," Dr. Nash promised.

"Fine. See you tomorrow, Louis," Harry told him.

"Mmm," was the only response Louis seemed able to muster.

Harry was just about to say something else when Niall gripped his upper arm and pulled him toward the door. "Let's go, H. Thanks for everything, Dr. Nash. See you tomorrow," Niall offered as he got a hold of the doorknob.

The doctor smiled and nodded.

Niall pushed Harry through the door and into the hallway, where he almost ran straight into Liam.

Liam immediately looked puzzled. "Are you leaving already?"

Niall nodded. "It's a long story. Let's talk about it back at my place."

"But…. Louis…." Liam countered.

"He's resting," Niall informed him. "We're to come back in the morning."

"Is he okay?" Liam questioned.

Harry choked back a sob, suddenly overwhelmed with the whole situation yet again. Niall instantly put an arm around Harry's back, grasping his upper arm supportively.

"Let's talk about it back at my place," Niall repeated. Harry didn't miss the pointed look Niall shot in Liam's direction.

"Okay," Liam finally relented, turning on his heel to head back to the bank of lifts at the end of the hall, even if Harry was pretty sure Liam was no less confused than he'd been when Harry had nearly run him down.

Harry and Niall bid Preston goodbye, then followed in Liam's wake.

The ride down the lift was silent. Harry's mind was whirling. This day had not even remotely gone the way Harry had imagined. Although, to be fair, he could never have imagined a scenario in which Louis totally denied he was gay, much less Harry's boyfriend. At least not in private. In the public eye was, of course, a different story.

Harry allowed Niall to manhandle him into the passenger seat of his Range Rover and listened as Niall told Liam they'd meet back at Niall's house. Niall would order a pizza and they would suss this whole thing out.

Harry very sincerely doubted that they could suss anything out. Louis didn't remember Harry, nor did he appear to care. All Harry wanted to do was go back in time and decide to stay an extra day at his mum's or not go at all. Anything which would make this nightmare go away. He had a sinking suspicion, however, that it wasn't going to go away. Not for a very, very, very long time.

_LOUIS_

It was ironic, but Louis couldn't remember a time when he was more confused.

After his two supposed friends--who he didn't know from Adam--left, his doctor explained that Louis would need to stay in the hospital a few more days so they could monitor his recovery, but if he didn't backslide, he could go home.

The only home Louis remembered was his mother's house, but he got the distinct impression that he was going to be told that wasn't where he lived anymore. Just the thought made his head hurt exponentially more than it already did.

The doctor explained that Louis was to call for help if he started to feel unwell, then she finally left him alone.

At first, Louis was relieved to be by himself for virtually the first time since waking up--less the time he spent inside the CAT scan machine. He quickly changed his mind, however, when his aloneness made room for questions upon questions upon questions--none of which he had answers for.

He wasn't gay. He was in love with Hannah. If he was sure of nothing else, he was sure of that. He sincerely could not imagine why this Harry person would lie and say Louis was his boyfriend. Maybe it was wishful thinking, and he was using the accident as an excuse to try to trap Louis.

In addition to the mystery of Harry insisting Louis was gay, there was the insane notion that Louis was not in touch with his parents and hadn't been "in years." He loved his mum and his step-dad, not to mention his four younger sisters. He couldn't imagine anything which would keep him away from them, nor them from him.

It all made absolutely no sense. He needed answers from someone he trusted. Thus resolved, he picked up the phone on the table beside his bed and dialed his parents' number.

His mother sounded most surprised to hear his voice, but Louis didn't even care. He broke down into tears the minute her soothing voice came across the line. He told her about the accident, the coma, and how he was very confused about just what was going on. She promised that she would be down to London straight away. Louis was just to hang in there until she could get there.

Louis felt a great deal better when he hung up the phone. So much better than he was finally able to fall back into the pillows, close his eyes, and rest. His mum would be there soon, and everything would be okay.

_HARRY_

Harry woke up completely disoriented. He could tell just from the colour of the sheets beneath his head that he was not in his own bed. It took him a few seconds to remember that he had gone home with Niall and spent the night, not wanting to be alone in his and Louis' huge bed.

The second he pushed himself upright, he was overcome with nausea. He covered his mouth and bolted for the bathroom directly across the hall from the guest room he was occupying. Unlike at the hospital, he made it to the toilet this time, hurling the meagre contents of his stomach into the bowl.

He had reached the dry heaving stage of the throwing up cycle when Niall's voice floated into the room. "You okay there, Haz?"

A hand towel appeared in front of Harry's eyes, and he gratefully took it to wipe his mouth before sitting back on his haunches to look up at Niall. "That was not the most fun way to wake up."

Niall chuckled. "I would guess not. And you weren't even drinking last night."

Harry pulled in a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. "Guess I'm still all messed up from Louis waking up."

"C'mon, let's get you some tea and toast, then we can head back over to the hospital to make Louis see sense," Niall suggested.

Harry nodded, taking the hand Niall offered to help him up. He rinsed his mouth out in the sink before following Niall down to the kitchen.

Liam was already there, sitting on a stool and stirring a cup of what was probably coffee, given Liam's recent habits. Harry vaguely remembered crying on his bandmates' shoulders well into the wee hours of the morning. Liam had probably not felt much like going home either.

"Morning, H!" Liam greeted him brightly.

Harry mumbled back a much-less-enthusiastic, "Morning," and took a seat on the stool to Liam's left. He was already so tired, and he'd only just woken up.

He watched with bleary eyes as Niall puttered around the kitchen making Harry's tea and toast.

"I'll bet Louis' already remembered everything," Liam predicted, sipping at his coffee. Harry's stomach roiled at the smell, but a palm pressed to his belly and a big, deep breath calmed it down for the most part.

Harry gratefully took the mug Niall passed across the bar. Once Harry had a good grip on his drink, Niall pushed over a small plate with two pieces of perfectly browned bread on it. Harry lifted his mug to his lips for an experimental sip. It tasted divine. So did the corner of the first piece of dry toast he bit into. His stomach feeling even better, he leveled Liam with a look. "What if he hasn't, though?"

"Then we'll remind him," Liam returned. "It's not like there isn't a pile of evidence."

"Circumstantial evidence," Harry countered. "We're still closeted, remember?"

Liam shrugged and executed a hand wave. "Doesn't matter. We can still make it clear."

Harry carefully took another sip of his piping hot beverage. "You didn't see him, Li. He was completely, totally appalled that I was suggesting he and I were boyfriends."

Liam nodded. "I know. You said that yesterday, too, and I still think he just needs some time to get used to the idea. If he hasn't already remembered you, that is."

"I hope you're right," Harry told him.

"Well, eat up, and we can go," Niall urged, hoisting his own mug of tea. At least both of them weren't adding coffee fumes to the air.

Harry got through his small breakfast as quickly as he could, then took a brief shower before climbing back into the clothes he'd worn the previous day.

Niall and Liam were ready and waiting in Niall's lounge when Harry walked in, running a nervous hand through his damp curls.

"All set?" Niall checked.

Harry nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Louis' room was bustling with people when Harry, Niall, and Liam arrived. Harry, of course, knew Dr. Nash, as well as nurse Dylan. From photos, Harry recognised the older woman by Louis' bedside as Louis' mum and the young girls as Louis' sisters, though he had never before met any of them in person.

Louis tracked her gaze, and his face fell when that gaze lit upon Harry. "You're back," he commented, obviously not thrilled at this development.

Liam or Niall--Harry didn't bother to turn around to see which--placed a soothing hand on Harry's back and gently pushed him further into the room. "Hi," Harry greeted in as bright a tone as he could manage.

"I'm Johannah Deakin, Louis' mother," the older woman told the newcomers, already on the defensive, wanting to protect her son.

Harry found himself speechless, so Liam, as ever, took over. "I'm Liam Payne, and this is Niall Horan and Harry Styles." He pointed to each of them as he did the introductions. "We're Louis' bandmates, and Harry is Louis' boyfriend."

Johannah blanched at Liam's last four words. "Of course, I recognise you from the band, but Louis has assured me that you are all bandmates and bandmates only," she said haughtily. She gestured to the three teens watching this exchange with interest. "This is Lottie and Fizzy, Louis' sisters, and that's Hannah, Louis' girlfriend."

Hannah possessively grabbed Louis' hand and shot a cocky smile in Harry's direction.

Harry bristled at the insinuation that Louis was Hannah's and he almost literally felt his spine grow straighter. "I'm very sorry, but Louis is, in fact, my boyfriend."

"Louis assures us this is not the case," Johannah insisted. "So thank you so much for caring about him as his bandmates, but his family is here to take care of him now."

"Are you…dismissing us?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Well--" Johannah began.

"No," Harry cut her off before she could get any further. "I'm not leaving." He looked to either side of him, where Niall and Liam flanked him and amended his assertion. "We're not leaving."

"I really--" Johannah tried again.

This time it was the doctor who cut her off. "Ladies and gentlemen. Arguing isn't going to help Louis recover."

Johannah didn't attempt to speak again, and Harry held his hands up in surrender.

"Speaking of recovering," Liam interjected. "When can Louis go home?"

Dr. Nash cleared her throat now she had the floor again. "I'd like to keep him another day or two just to make sure there are no other side effects from the head injury besides the amnesia."

"Then he should come home with me," Harry announced, feeling bold. He knew he was in the fight of his life for his relationship.

"Excuse me?" Johannah said haughtily.

"Whether he remembers it right now or not, Louis' home is with me," Harry stated firmly before repeating, "He should come home with me."

"I don't think so," Johannah countered. "He should come home to people he remembers."

Liam cleared his throat and inserted himself into the conversation again. "Dr. Nash, what would be best for Louis?"

The doctor replied, "If Louis is to recover his memory properly, he should be surrounded by the things and the people he is trying to remember."

"But I don't know him!" Louis protested. "I can't go home with someone I don't know."

Louis' words stabbed through Harry's already bruised heart, and when he looked over at Louis' mum, he spotted a look of triumph on her face.

"Look," Dr. Nash said. "Louis can't go anywhere until tomorrow at the earliest. Why doesn't everyone hold off on the decision-making until Louis is ready to be discharged?"

Harry was about to continue the dispute regardless of the doctor's advice, but Liam placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry met his gaze, and Liam shook his head.

"But he doesn't even speak with them!" Harry spat out. "He hasn't talked to them since before we left for Judges' Houses on _X-Factor_."

"None of that matters now," Johannah offered primly. "He wants us here now, and here we'll stay."

"Harry, come on," Liam urged. "Let's just go for now, leave them to catch up."

Harry sighed heavily. He didn't like the idea of giving up one little bit, but a glance at Louis' anxious face settled it. He had to let it go. "Just for today," he bargained.

"Just for today," Liam agreed.

"I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning," Harry announced to the room in a voice he hoped brooked no argument.

Thankfully, no one argued. Johannah did not look pleased. Nor did Louis, for that matter, but Harry didn't much care. He wasn't going to rest until he'd done everything in his power to take Louis home.

He let Liam lead him out, but he couldn't wait to return the next day to stake his claim. He just needed to figure out how.

* * *

Liam and Niall spent the rest of that day distracting him. They took him right back to Niall's, where they watched football, played video games, ate pizza, and drank beer.

Harry woke up the following morning in exactly the same fashion as he had the day before. He barely made it to the toilet before losing all the crappy food and beer he had indulged in. Just like the previous morning, Niall appeared as Harry was dry heaving and handed him a hand towel.

"Guess that was a few too many beers," Niall commented wryly.

"I don't even understand," Harry whined. "You drank twice as much as me, and you're fine."

"I'm Irish," Niall reminded him. "Though Liam's okay, and he drank more than you, too. Maybe you've turned into a lightweight."

"Ha ha," Harry said dryly. "I haven't."

"You're under a lot of stress," Niall stated. "It totally makes sense that would make you sick to your stomach."

"I guess."

Niall reached down once again to help Harry up. As they moved through the house to the kitchen, Niall informed him, "Liam's making breakfast. If we get done quickly, we can maybe make it to hospital before Louis' family. Give you once more chance to persuade Louis that he belongs with you."

"Sounds good."

Harry managed to get--and keep--down a couple pieces of toast, a scrambled egg, and some herbal tea. When breakfast was done and cleaned up after, they all dressed and piled into Niall's Range Rover, heading right back to the hospital.

Just like Niall had hoped, they arrived at the exact moment visiting hours began, and no one was in Louis' room other than Louis.

"Do you want us to come in with you this time?" Liam asked Harry very seriously.

Harry gave it a moment of thought, then shook his head. "No. Maybe it will go better if it's just me. Not so many people having expectations."

Liam nodded as Niall assured Harry, "We'll be right out here if you need us. Just yell."

"Thanks."

Harry hauled in a deep breath, then found he needed another before he had steeled himself enough to push open the door.

Louis' eyes were closed as he rested back against his pillows, but Harry could tell from his breathing that he was not asleep. He was proven correct when Louis opened his eyes at the sound of Harry's footfalls on the linoleum floor.

"Hi," Harry greeted him softly. "I didn't wake you, did I?" He knew he hadn't, but decided to err on the side of kindness.

Louis shook his head. "No, I was just resting. Been up since they came in a while ago to poke and prod me." He grimaced, clearly displeased with the check-up.

"You never have been a good patient," Harry noted absently, offering a small smile.

"You're persistent," Louis offered his own note.

"I love you," Harry said, attempting to keep things simple and straightforward.

"I still don't remember you," Louis told him, equally straightforward.

"I have proof that we're together," Harry announced.

"Proof?" Louis' brow furrowed.

"I want you to come home with me, Louis," Harry went on to explain. "If you're surrounded by your things and spend some time with me, your memories could come back. I spent a lot of time Googling this, and the experts said being around familiar things can trigger memories."

"Okay." Louis sounded unsure, but willing to hear more. Harry would take it.

Withdrawing his mobile from his back pocket, Harry said, "Just listen."

Harry found the file he wanted on the phone, kicked up the volume, then hit play, holding the phone up so Louis could hear.

Louis' eyebrows rose as he heard his own voice come out of the mobile's tiny speaker. _"Hi, love. Just got to the house. Can't wait for you to get home. Damn, that flight was long, but it was totally worth it to get to be with you a few days before I have to go back to London. I know you're out doing your thing, but try to hurry. It's been way too long. I'm going to shower and take a nap. You'll find me in bed. Wake me. I don't want to wait one extra second to make up for lost time. Love you, babe. Bye."_

Louis took a moment to process the voicemail Harry had just played, then inquired, "When did I leave that message?"

"A month ago," Harry replied. "We were on a break, and we got to spend a few days together in L.A. before you had to come home to London, and I had to stay there to work."

"I thought we worked together. In the band." Louis' brow remained furrowed with confusion.

"We do," Harry assured him. "It's a long, complicated story. I can explain better later, when you're feeling better and you're not in hospital."

"What about Hannah?" Louis wondered aloud. "Last I remember, she and I were pretty serious."

"You broke up with her not long after you and I met," Harry answered, trying hard to tread carefully. Everything he had read during his insomnia-fueled research had suggested that Louis shouldn't be overwhelmed with information at any point during his recovery.

"Why?" Louis wanted to know. "All I remember is that we were really happy. And Hannah never said a word yesterday."

"I'm sure she didn't," Harry muttered under her breath.

"What?" Louis requested a repeat of the comment.

Instead, Harry cleared his throat and said, "You're still sort of friends, but you're with me, and she has a boyfriend."

"She has a boyfriend?" Louis checked. "But…? She was here yesterday, telling me she loved me."

"It will all make sense once you're out of here and learn more about your life now," Harry informed him. "I promise."

"I don't know…."

"Louis, please?" Harry begged. "Please give this a shot. Come home with me. We can take it slow, and I promise I'll try to make everything clear. If it doesn't work or you aren't comfortable, you can go home to your family, and I won't try to stop you."

"I did sound happy in the message," Louis conceded.

Harry smiled widely. "You were. We were. We are."

Louis paused for a moment of thought, inhaling sharply and exhaling slowly. "Okay. If Dr. Nash thinks it's a good idea for me to go home with you instead of my family, then I'll try."

Harry's smile grew. "Really?"

Louis nodded. "My mum's not going to like it," he remarked ruefully.

"I'm not going to like what?" Jay's voice interjected.

Harry and Louis both looked toward the door. Jay stood on the threshold, Liam and Niall right behind her.

"We tried to stop her," Niall apologised. "Sorry."

"What am I not going to like?" Johannah asked, speaking as if Niall hadn't.

"I'm going home with Harry," Louis declared.

"Excuse me?" Johannah's voice climbed an octave on the second word.

"I'm going home with Harry," Louis repeated, sounding a little more sure of himself now.

Johannah rushed to the side of the bed not currently occupied by Harry. "Since when?"

"Since now," Harry answered for Louis.

Johannah looked up at Harry sharply, obviously displeased with his presence. She scowled at him for the briefest of moments before schooling her features back into a concerned look for her son. "I thought we had decided you were coming home with me to your sisters and brother."

Louis was saved from responding when Dr. Nash came in, shouldering past Niall and Liam. With a bright smile, she greeted her patient. "Good morning, Louis."

"Good morning, Dr. Nash," Louis returned.

"Good morning, Harry, Niall, Liam," she acknowledged Louis' bandmates, before glancing at Louis' mother. "Mrs. Deakin."

"Doctor," Johannah entreated. "Louis thinks he's going home with Harry. Please explain to him that that's not a good idea."

Dr. Nash smiled once more. "If that's what Louis has decided, that's a fine idea, actually."

"Excuse me?" Johannah inquired for a second time since entering the room.

"Harry, how long have you two lived together?" Dr. Nash questioned, though she surely already knew the answer. Harry had not left the hospital once while Louis was unconscious. He had had plenty of conversations with the doctor.

"Five years," Harry told her.

Johannah shook her head and tutted with disgust.

"Then that's Louis' home," the doctor concluded.

"But he's forgotten more than five years of his life," Johannah protested.

"All the more reason to go back where all those memories were made," Dr. Nash stated. "If he's around the life he had, he might be able to recover some of those memories."

Harry smiled at her assertion, thrilled it matched with what he'd read online.

"We're his family," Johannah continued her argument. "He belongs with us."

"He's _my_ family," Harry countered. "He belongs at his home, back in his life. With me."

"Mum, I need to do whatever I can to get my memory back," Louis reasoned. "If it doesn't work, I'll come back home."

Johannah opened her mouth to, in all likelihood, disagree with Louis' decision some more, but when she saw the determined look on her son's face, she stopped. "Fine," she said begrudgingly.

Louis smiled softly. "Thanks, Mum."

"Now that's been decided," Dr. Nash said, "why don't you all give me a few minutes to see if Louis is even ready to leave the hospital?"

Harry risked a friendly pat of Louis' upper arm. When Louis didn't flinch, but merely met Harry's gaze, Harry told him, "I'll be right outside with Niall and Liam."

Louis nodded. "Okay."

Johannah sighed heavily, but straightened. "I'll be outside, too."

Louis nodded for her, too, and repeated, "Okay."

Harry felt better than he had since the moment the red SUV had collided with his Range Rover on the M1. He stepped out into the hallway behind Liam and Niall confident things were at long last looking up.

_LOUIS_

Four or five of the Tomlinson/Deakins' Greenwich house could have fit inside the house Harry swore was half Louis'.

Dr. Nash had cleared him to leave the hospital not too long after Louis had made the decision to go home with Harry. Louis had bid a tearful goodbye to his mum, his sisters, and Hannah, and had climbed into Harry's SUV, parked behind the hospital for some reason Louis could not fathom, but didn't bother to ask about, figuring it wouldn't make sense anyhow.

Harry had yet to offer any details of the band they were apparently in together, but Niall and Liam were with them as Harry pulled through the gated entry and parked right in the middle of the circular driveway.

The inside of the house was immaculate. Nothing like the chaos at his mother's abode. He guessed that was the difference between two people sharing a huge house and seven people sharing a small house--though he guessed it was probably even worse now that he had brand new (to him) baby twin siblings. 

They all gathered in the lounge of the huge house, where Harry, Liam, and Niall promised to fill Louis in on at least the bare bones of their band. Louis was excited about the prospect of finally getting some answers, while at the same time, all the secrecy up until this point made him nervous.

While Harry made tea for everyone, Louis walked around the lounge, looking at the photos and mementos placed strategically all around the room. There were photos of him and Harry, him and Harry plus Niall and Liam, and him and Harry plus Niall and Liam and another dark-haired young man Louis, of course, didn't remember. There were also, naturally, many photographs of Harry and Louis and their family members, though Louis only recognised his own--though those photos were old--and made assumptions about Harry's.

Scattered among the mementos were a large number of awards. Louis didn't have time to examine them to see what they were for, but he was definitely very curious.

When Harry returned to the lounge carrying a tray, Louis sat in an easy chair and accepted the mug Harry passed to him. Louis was pleased to discover Harry had made Yorkshire tea, and he doctored his with a little milk while Harry carried his mug to another easy chair, and Liam and Niall settled back into the couch with theirs.

"So, Louis, how're you feeling?" Harry inquired. "Doing okay?"

Louis took a sip of tea--brewed perfectly, he noted--before answering, "I'm fine. Little headache, but still much better than when I woke up."

Harry smiled softly. "Good. I left all your medicine in the kitchen. Let me know if you need anything."

Louis nodded.

Harry sipped from his own mug, then put it down on the table next to his chair. He regarded Louis carefully for a moment. "I can't even imagine waking up and not remembering anything. It must be very strange."

 _Strange_ didn't begin to cover it. Louis just nodded again.

"I talked to the doctor this morning," Harry revealed. "She said we could tell you a little bit of what you've forgotten, but we're not to overwhelm you."

"That would be great," Louis acknowledged, relieved. "Can you start with why we had to leave from the back of the hospital?"

Harry shrugged. "That's as good a place as any." As Louis watched, Harry glanced over to Liam and Niall, raising his eyebrows ever so slightly. Louis sensed Harry was asking for help.

"We're in a band," Liam offered.

"Harry told me," Louis said.

Harry took over the explanations. "Five years ago, we all tried out for _The X-Factor_ as solo artists. We didn't make it through to Judges' Houses individually, but we were put together in a band."

Louis felt like his head was spinning. He pointed to Niall, then continued on to include Liam, Harry, and himself in the gesture. "We were in a band on TV?"

"One Direction," Harry said. "We're called One Direction."

"Did we win the show, then?" Louis asked.

"Nope," Niall replied. "We came in third. But Simon Cowell signed us anyway."

"Okay." Louis couldn't begin to fathom how he could have forgotten such a huge part of his life. "So, how successful were we? Are we?" he corrected, not sure exactly how to phrase his question. He was even less sure he actually wanted to know…this was all so bizarre.

"We've done pretty well," Liam told him, though it definitely sounded like Liam was downplaying the situation.

"We've made it pretty big," Harry added, "and we have a fair number of fans. They figured out where you'd been admitted, and they were hanging out in the front, so we went out the back."

"We may have hinted that you were leaving at a later time," Niall further explained.

"So, we're popular?" Louis concluded.

Harry conceded, "You could say that."

Louis pointed to the shelves behind Liam and Niall where the awards he'd spied were displayed. "So, we won those?"

Harry followed Louis' finger to confirm what Louis was talking about, then nodded. "We did."

Louis took a minute or so to let this new information sink in. It finally occurred to him to ask, "What kind of music do we play?"

"Rock-y pop," Harry responded at the same moment Liam said, "Pop-y rock."

Harry, Liam, and Niall all chuckled. "It's an evolving sound," Niall informed Louis.

Louis nodded. "Okay." After pausing for a few more seconds, he fixed his gaze on Harry. "And you and I are seeing each other?"

A pained look clouded Harry's features for a split second before he visibly schooled himself and adopted a calmer look. "We're together, yes."

"For how long?" Louis wondered aloud.

"Since we met, more or less," Harry stated.

"We've been together five years?" Louis asked incredulously. If forgetting one was in a popular band was bad, how much worse was it to forget a relationship you'd been in for half a decade?

Harry nodded, biting his bottom lip.

Louis frowned again. "Then how does my mum not know? Even if we hadn't spoken in a while, wouldn't that have been all over the news?" Johannah had confirmed that Louis had been out of touch with his family for many years, but she had failed to tell him why--saying she didn't want to overwhelm him with information--and she had gone along with Hannah's assertion that she and Louis were still dating.

"Well…." Harry began. He looked to Liam and Niall for help once again, but they gave twin shrugs. Harry was on his own. In recognition of this fact, Harry sighed. "We aren't exactly out. Except to a few carefully selected people."

"Why not?" Louis questioned. He'd heard, of course, of plenty of closeted celebrities--Ricky Martin, George Michael--but he knew being in the closet had been rough for them, inducing plenty of stress.

"We're in a boy band," Harry offered a succinct explanation.

"Oh," Louis breathed. Now he thought of Lance Bass and Mark Feehily, and, assuming this wild tale was true--and the photos and awards did seem to bear that out--he understood. He leaned back and rested his head on the fluffy cushion behind him, closing his eyes while he trying to soak in all he'd just learned.

"That's probably enough for now," Harry concluded softly.

Louis agreed with a, "Mmhm." He had more than enough to mull over.

He kept his eyes closed as Harry's voice changed direction, aiming for Liam and Niall. "Maybe you guys should go."

"Sure," Niall concurred.

Liam had clearly stood before he said, "Call us if you need anything, Haz."

"Will do," Harry promised.

"Lou?" Niall's voice was careful, clearly he meant to not cause any further stress. Louis opened his eyes and lifted his head to appraise his…bandmate. "We're so glad you're awake."

Bereft of much he could say in response to that, Louis just told Niall, "Thanks."

"Yeah, mate. Glad you're back with us," Liam echoed Niall's sentiment.

Louis offered him thanks, too, then watched idly as Harry saw the two men to the front door. When they were out of sight, he rested his head and closed his eyes once again. He was more weary than he ever remembered being in his life.

Harry cleared his throat when he came back into the lounge. Louis reluctantly cracked open his eyes to regard him.

"Are you hungry?" Harry asked. "I could make us some lunch."

Louis shook his head. Food was actually the furthest thing from his mind. "No, thanks. I'm knackered. I'd much rather take a nap, if that's okay?"

"Of course," Harry readily agreed.

"Maybe food after?"

"Whatever you want," Harry said amiably. "So, shall I show you where you can lay down?"

"That would be great." Louis rose from his seat. He felt bone weary. The accident and its aftermath were really taking a toll.

Harry led the way out of the lounge and up a set of stairs done in a beautiful hardwood. Louis figured one of them must have a great eye. The house was simply amazing at every turn.

When they got to the top of the stairs, Harry hesitated.

"Is something wrong?" Louis inquired.

Harry turned to face Louis, giving Louis a good view of the blush filling Harry's cheeks. "I had thought to just show you to our bedroom, but maybe that would be awkward for you? We have a couple guest bedrooms…."

"I think ours will be fine," Louis said. "Might as well be in the places that stand the best chance of triggering memories, yeah?"

"Yeah." Harry started moving again, then, passing by three or four doors before opening one to reveal a large bedroom done all in muted browns and tans, accented in deep crimson.

The room was dominated by a king-size bed. There were tables on either side of the bed, topped with what Louis guessed might have been antique lamps. There were two dressers against other walls, and a TV mounted directly across from the bed.

"That's the en suite." Harry pointed to a door on the other side of the room.

Curious, Louis wandered over and looked into the bathroom, which featured two sinks, a toilet, a shower, and a bathtub. It was well-appointed, but not ostentatious, cementing Louis' impression that at least one of them had a decorator's eye. He doubted it was him.

"Your clothes are in this chest of drawers." Harry gestured toward the taller of the two big pieces of furniture. "I'm sure you can find something to sleep in there."

Louis gave Harry a small smile. He recognised that as hard as this was for him, this had to be hard on Harry, too. "Thanks."

Harry returned the smile. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

"Thanks," Louis repeated.

Harry paused for just another moment before turning and heading out the door.

Louis rummaged through the drawers Harry had directed him to, thankful to find some comfy-looking flannel pyjama bottoms and what appeared to be a well-loved white t-shirt. He thought about taking a shower before trying to rest, but then decided he was just too tired. He had forgotten to ask Harry which side of the bed was his, so he just randomly picked the right side and climbed in, the duvet soft and warm as he huddled up underneath it.

He had almost no time to think about how weird it was, trying to rest in a strange bed that was, supposedly, his, but that he did not remember. He was out like a light before he knew it, falling into a dreamless, much-needed sleep. There would be lots of time for sorting things out later.

* * *

Louis awoke to the sound of retching in the en suite. He crawled out from under the duvet and padded to the door of the bathroom. There he found Harry hunched up over the porcelain bowl.

"Harry, are you okay?" Louis asked, though even as he was saying it, he knew it was a dumb question.

It took a moment, but Harry eventually looked up at him blearily. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

Louis shook his head. "It's okay."

Harry dry-heaved over the toilet again, then groaned. "I got coffee on my shirt, and I just came up to get a new one when I started to feel nauseated."

Glancing around the room, Louis finally spied a flannel hanging on a nearby dowel. He grabbed it and handed it over to Harry. "Here."

Harry wiped his mouth, coughing just a little. "Thanks." After another moment, he pushed himself up from the floor. "That's the third time that's happened this week."

"That doesn't sound good," Louis mused.

Harry shrugged. "I think it's just all the stress."

"That makes sense." Harry had been pretty pale when Louis had caught him throwing up, but now that he was upright, colour was beginning to return to his cheeks.

After Harry moved to rinse his mouth out with mouthwash and wash his hands, he turned back to Louis. "Better now. How are you feeling?"

Louis took a quick mental inventory. "Head still hurts a little, but I'm less exhausted. The nap helped."

Harry sidled past Louis back into the bedroom. "That's great. Think you're up for some food?"

"You shouldn't have to cook when you've just been ill," Louis protested.

"I won't have to," Harry countered. "I have stuff for sandwiches."

"Oh." Louis' stomach literally rumbled at the thought of something to eat. "That sounds good, then."

"Excellent."

Harry led the way back downstairs to the kitchen. Now that he wasn't distracted by Harry being sick, Louis noticed that the light outside was dimming. "I slept a while, didn't I?" The clock on the silver stove indicated that it was nearly 6:30 p.m.

"You needed it. Your body's still recovering," Harry pointed out. He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out packets of meat, and he retrieved a loaf of bread from the box on the counter. He went on to announce, "There's ham and turkey, and cheddar and Swiss cheese. The bread is wheat. I hope that's okay."

"That's fine." Everything sounded good.

Harry got a plate from a cupboard, then waved Louis over. "Help yourself. Do you want mayonnaise or mustard?"

"Mustard would be grand." Louis pulled two slices of bread from the bag, then slathered the mustard Harry gave him on them before loading the sandwich with ham and Swiss. He carried the plate over to a stool by the island in the centre of the kitchen. "Is here okay?"

"You can eat wherever you like," Harry allowed, dropping a bag of crisps in front of Louis before slipping onto another of the stools, leaving an empty one between him and Louis.

"You're not eating?" Louis asked.

Harry shook his head. "I'm pretty sure my stomach would just reject it. I'll try some soup or dry toast later."

"That makes sense." Louis picked up his sandwich and took a huge bite. After barely eating anything while in hospital, he was definitely getting his appetite back.

The silence between them as Louis ate was awkward. Louis wished he knew what to say, but he hadn't a clue. His head was still swimming with all the information he'd been given, and he had not a single memory to his name beyond ones from before he'd apparently become internationally famous...and gay. It was all still a bit much.

Harry didn't force any conversation. Regardless of whether it was because Harry was still feeling ill or because he didn't know what to say, Louis was grateful.

When he'd eaten his fill, Louis told Harry to stay seated before taking charge of putting everything away and washing up the plate and knife he'd used. He wiped his hands on a paper towel, then turned to regard Harry. "Now what?"

Harry slipped off the stool he'd been occupying. "I was thinking you might like to watch a video or two that we've made."

Despite the weirdness of this whole thing, Louis was curious. "Sure. That sounds good."

Harry led the way back to the lounge and fired up the TV. Once it came on, he navigated to a YouTube app and used the remote to type in _One Direction_. He scrolled until he found the video he wanted.

"This was our very first single and video. It's called _What Makes You Beautiful_ ," Harry explained before pressing Play.

And there Louis was, frolicking on the beach with his bandmates, singing just about the cheesiest song Louis had ever heard. It was utterly bizarre seeing himself on the screen. He looked just like he remembered in the mirror--and that had been a shock, discovering how old he looked in the hospital mirror--except more polished. He presumed they'd had their hair, makeup, and wardrobe done.

When the video was done, Harry questioned, "More?"

Louis nodded. He was weirded out, but fascinated all the same.

Harry scrolled through the _One Direction_ results some more. "This is our last video, _Drag Me Down_. We got to go to NASA in Houston, Texas, to film it."

Louis opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Really?"

With a grin, Harry nodded. "Yep." He pressed Play.

This time, the boy with the dark hair and the olive skin was missing, and the rest of them were all a lot older and getting to play around what looked like pretty expensive space equipment. The song itself was a lot edgier than the first song had been. He liked the mature sound a lot better than the pop of the first single.

When that video came to an end, Louis turned to look at Harry. "Where'd that one go? The one with the dark hair?"

Harry winced. "Zayn. He was in the band until last March, then he left. He said he was exhausted by our schedule, but I think he really just wanted to make his own music."

"Were we all close? Are we all close?" Louis wondered aloud.

Harry nodded. "I mean, we really don't hear from Zayn very much anymore, but yeah, the rest of us are close."

"Can we watch another?" Louis requested.

Harry cued up another video, this one a live performance of a song called _Night Changes_. Harry said it was from the American Music Awards. Louis was impressed. Not many British bands broke the US market.

The other two videos had been fun, if odd, to watch. This performance was plain uncomfortable. It was clear that Harry was singing his part of the song directly to Louis. The Louis on the TV screen did not seem to mind one little bit.

Louis truly couldn't understand it. How did he get from being in love with Hannah to this? There was, of course, nothing wrong with being gay, but Louis liked girls. Always had. He didn't know what to do with the news that everything he thought he knew about himself might not be true.

When the performance on the screen was over, Harry inquired, "Would you like to see more? There's a ton to choose from."

Louis shook his head. "I think that's enough for now. It's still a lot to…process."

"I can't even imagine," Harry sympathised. "Like Dr. Nash said, it's going to take some time for you to get used to things. Your memory probably won't come back all at once."

Louis was less worried about the speed with which his memory might return. He was more concerned that his memory wouldn't ever return. The doctor had indicated that it could be gone for good. There was just no way of knowing.

The LED on the cable box told Louis it was nearing 8:00 pm. "I know it's early yet, but I still feel pretty exhausted."

"You should go back to bed, then," Harry urged. "We can pick this up again later."

"Thanks." Louis stood to head back to their bedroom.

"Go ahead and shower and go to sleep," Harry said. "I've got some stuff I need to take care of online. I'll be up later." In demonstration, he reached for the silver laptop sitting on the coffee table and settled it on his thighs.

Louis nodded. "Okay." He started back in the direction of the stairs, but remembered something and swiveled on his heels to face Harry once again. "Thanks, Harry. For everything."

Harry looked up from where he was turning on his computer and smiled shyly. "You're welcome. Sleep well."

"Thanks."

Back in the bedroom, Louis located some new pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt that looked comfy enough for sleeping, then he climbed into the shower, reveling in how much nicer it was than the one at the hospital. He didn't know which stuff was supposed to be his and which was supposed to be Harry's, so he just used the stuff that smelled the nicest.

The mirror in the bathroom was much, much bigger than the one in the tiny hospital bathroom. As the steam dissipated, Louis was able to more clearly examine his tattoos than he had been in hospital, particularly the ones harder to see owing to their location. He hadn't been able to help but notice that some of the ink he had seemed related to some of the ink Harry had. For example, Louis had a rope around his right wrist, and Harry had an anchor on his left wrist. It made his head hurt just thinking about what it all meant, so he forced himself to put the tattoos out of his mind--for now.

By the time he was clean and outfitted in his night clothes, Louis had moved somewhere past exhausted. He shut off his bedside lamp and climbed back under the duvet, still wrinkled from his nap.

Louis closed his eyes, expecting to drift off right away, but instead, his mind kept moving at what felt like a million miles an hour. His brain was trying to catalogue all the information he'd taken in since waking from his coma, trying to make some sense of it all.

It was hopeless, though. He didn't remember one single thing. The house that was purportedly his was completely unfamiliar, and he had not even a glimmer of a memory that included Harry, not to mention the rest of his bandmates/friends.

He felt like he had been dropped into someone else's life when all he wanted was to be back in his.

Very deliberately, Louis pulled up memories of time spent with his family and with Hannah. It was with these happy moments floating through his mind that he was finally able to get some peace--and some sleep.

_HARRY_

Harry became nauseated in the car on the way over to the meeting with their management. Fortunately, Harry was able to give the driver just enough notice to be able to pull the car over so he could be sick on the side of the road. Harry hoped fervently that none of the people in the cars zooming by recognised him. Once was plenty with the shrines at motorway locations where Harry got sick.

When Harry got to Modest's waiting room, Niall and Liam were already there.

"You look like shit," Niall noted bluntly.

"Thanks," Harry returned in a dry tone. "I threw up on the way here."

Niall frowned. "Are you sure it's just stress? You've been sick a lot this week."

Harry waved a dismissive hand. "It's stress."

He was saved from further argument with Niall when Richard Griffiths himself came to fetch them, leading them into a nearby conference room.

As Harry, Liam, and Niall took seats, Richard asked, "Louis didn't come with you?"

"He just got home two days ago. He's not really up for something like this yet," Harry replied. Louis had, instead, stayed home. Harry had shown him folders and folders of photos on his laptop, and allowed Louis to borrow it to browse. Harry hoped the photos might trigger some memories.

"So, how is he doing?" Richard inquired.

"He was in a coma for four days after having a serious head injury," Harry answered with thinly veiled anger. "How do you think he's doing?"

Liam and Niall both looked at him with surprise. Harry was not usually the snarky one.

"How's the amnesia?" Richard went on, undeterred by Harry's outburst.

Harry pulled in a deep breath with the intention of calming himself down. After a second breath, he told Richard, "We're working on it."

"So, your next tour date is two weeks from now. Do you think Louis will be ready for that?" Richard asked.

Harry regarded him as if he had grown another head. "No," he replied succinctly. "He doesn't remember _The X-Factor_. He doesn't remember One Direction. He doesn't remember me. Any of us, for that matter."

"Well, his memory could return, couldn't it?" Richard wondered aloud. Harry could tell he was trying to be reasonable, but this whole line of questioning raised his hackles.

"It could," Liam jumped in. "But we just don't know."

"We need a month," Harry declared.

"A month?" Richard squeaked.

"No less," Harry tacked on.

Richard sighed heavily. "That's a lot of money wasted."

"I'm sure you'll survive on the millions we've already made you," Liam dished out his own snark. "Louis needs this time to recover. It's not a question. We're taking a month."

Harry put a hand on Liam's leg and squeezed it in thanks for taking a stand on Louis' behalf. Liam quirked a little smile in recognition of the gratitude.

"Fine," Richard grumbled. "I'll get my staff to cancelling the shows. We'll make a statement saying Louis is recovering nicely from the car accident, but needs some time off before returning to the stage."

"If his memory doesn't come back, we'll need to cancel the rest of the tour," Harry went on. "There's no way he can perform if he doesn't even know who he is and who we are."

Richard didn't argue this time. Harry hoped the manager sensed he wasn't going to win this one in any shape or form. Richard had another question, however. "What about the new album? Should we be talking about postponing it?"

Harry hadn't actually thought about that, but Liam apparently had. "I think it should still be released as planned, but we'll have to see how things are going before we plan to do any direct promo. With any luck, by the end of the month, Louis' memories will have returned, and we can continue on as usual."

Richard looked like he wanted to argue this one, but then he sighed, perhaps sensing he was working against the tide on this one. "Okay. Anything else?" he checked, looking from Harry to Liam to Niall.

When Richard's gaze landed on him again, Harry shook his head. "Not right now. I think that's plenty for now."

"Okay, then. Good luck with the recovery. Please tell Louis we wish him well," Richard said in a tone that was almost sincere. "We'll be in touch to check in."

"Thank you," Harry told him before moving to stand up. He was more than done with this meeting.

As Liam and Niall likewise rose, Richard added, "Let us know if you need anything."

"Like I'd call you," Harry muttered. 

Niall snickered, and Liam gave him a significant look. When Harry glanced over at Richard, it was apparent he hadn't caught Harry's remark. Harry sighed. In a slightly louder voice, he politely said, "We will."

They had barely made it to the lobby when Harry's stomach turned again. He ran for the nearest loo and threw up in the sink just inside the door. It was mostly bile this time, since his breakfast had expelled itself on the way to Modest.

Niall peeked in the door as Harry was washing his face. "You okay there, Haz?"

Harry's hands were shaky as he reached for a paper towel. "I don't even know."

"You need to see a doctor," Niall urged. "This seems like a lot of sick to be stress. You look pale and exhausted."

"I'll be fine," Harry insisted, but even he could tell there wasn't very much conviction in his assertion.

"Just get checked out," Niall pressed. "Make sure it's just stress. At the very least, they could give you something for all the nausea."

Harry groaned. It bugged him beyond measure, but he knew Niall was right. "Fine. I'll have Heather call to make me an appointment."

"Have her make it soon," Niall ordered.

"Yes, sir." Harry gave him a curt salute.

Niall didn't even let them leave the building until Harry rung his assistant. He, Niall, and Liam had just exited the building when Heather rung back to say the doctor could see him right away.

"I'll go with," Niall offered. "For moral support."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, then realised it would be nice to have someone with him, especially if Louis couldn't be. "Okay. Thanks."

Harry sent his driver away, then he and Niall said goodbye to Liam and climbed into Niall's SUV. A comfortable silence swirled around them as Niall drove the short distance to Harry's GP, Dr. Booth.

They entered the building the doctor's office was in through the back to avoid being spotted by too many people. Harry and Niall did not have to spend any time in the waiting room. They were shown immediately to an examination room and told Dr. Booth would be with them as soon as she could be.

Harry and Niall passed the time checking their e-mail and browsing Twitter, occasionally showing each other amusing tweets. Dr. Booth showed up about twenty minutes after they'd arrived.

"Hullo, Harry," the doctor greeted him.

"Hi, Dr. Booth," Harry returned. He gestured toward his bandmate. "This is my friend, Niall."

Dr. Booth shook Niall's hand. "Of course. I've seen your work with Harry here. Nice to meet you." She shifted her gaze back to Harry. "I heard from someone I know at St. Luke's that Louis was in a car accident." Dr. Booth was aware of Harry and Louis' connection, but was, of course, sworn to secrecy.

Harry nodded. "He just got home a few days ago."

"Head injury, right?" the doctor confirmed the information she'd been given was correct.

"Yes." Harry didn't want to go into any more detail. The story would be on the news soon enough.

"Well, I hope he's feeling better soon," Dr. Booth wished. Switching gears, she asked, "So, what brings you here?"

"I've felt ill all week," Harry told her. "I've thrown up at least once every day. I can't keep much food down. I think it's just stress, but Niall insisted I come see you to make sure."

Niall beamed in her direction as she said, "Always a good idea. Now, were you in this accident with Louis?"

"Yes, but I didn't get hurt nearly as badly as Louis did. I just hit the steering wheel, so I have some bruising on my chest, and my elbow whacked the door, so that's bruised, too. That's it," Harry concluded.

"Well, let's take your vitals, get some blood and urine and see what we see," the doctor suggested.

Harry's temperature was elevated, and his blood pressure was a little high. After he left a urine sample in the tiny loo next to the exam room, a nurse appeared to draw blood. Harry was left alone with Niall, then, to await the doctor's reappearance.

He was too nervous to discuss the different possible scenarios with Niall, so he just pulled out his phone to continue a text conversation he'd been having with his sister on and off all day. She was at work and regaling him with tales of her co-workers. Even if he couldn't say anything out loud, his brain kept working through all the possibilities of what could be wrong--internal bleeding from an unseen injury, a nasty flu, a tapeworm. His brain had vivid ideas.

By the time Dr. Booth knocked on the door to request re-entry, Harry's nerves were close to shot. He just wanted the doctor to confirm that this was all just stress, prescribe him something to calm him, and send him on his way.

The first thing Dr. Booth did was to look pointedly in Niall's direction.

Harry got the message without her even saying anything. "It's fine. Whatever it is, Niall can hear it."

"Are you sure?" the doctor double-checked.

Harry nodded firmly.

"Okay, then." Dr. Booth closed the door behind her. "I think we've figured out what's going on here."

Harry pulled in a deep breath, though it did nothing to quell his anxiety. "What is it?"

"Harry…. You're pregnant."

If Dr. Booth had announced that his fever indicated Harry was going to spontaneously combust, Harry could not have been more shocked. Despite knowing it was always a possibility, he had never once considered that he might be expecting a baby.

"Pregnant?" Harry repeated, his voice squeaking ever so slightly. "I'm pregnant?"

"The tests are pretty conclusive, and your symptoms track," Dr. Booth explained.

"I'm…. I can't…. This isn't…." Harry was suddenly completely unable to string together a sentence. Niall sidled up to where Harry sat on the exam table and rested a hand on Harry's thigh. Harry looked helplessly over at his friend. What was Harry supposed to do?

"Why don't we get an ultrasound in here and we can see how far along you are?" the doctor suggested.

As Harry was too stunned to speak, Niall responded on his behalf. "That sounds good. Right, Haz?"

Harry nodded distractedly, already trying to figure out when this could have happened. They were usually exceedingly cautious, wanting to wait on babies a few more years.

Dr. Booth stuck her head out of the room and asked a nurse to bring in the ultrasound machine. It was pushed through the door less than a minute later.

After raising one end of the table up, the doctor asked Harry to lay back and pull up his shirt. While he complied, she fired up the machine. For his part, Niall stationed himself on Harry's other side. Harry would never be able to pay Niall back for being such a steady, calming presence.

"This may be a little cold," Dr. Booth warned, holding up a white tube. "It's gel for the ultrasound."

Harry nodded, making sure his shirt was hiked up enough. He hissed as she squeezed some gel right underneath his butterfly tattoo. Shortly thereafter, she pressed a wand right in the centre of the gel, moving it in gentle circles, all the while looking up at a monitor.

"You okay, Harry?" Niall whispered as the doctor searched the monitor for a clear shot.

"I have no idea," Harry whispered back.

"There," Dr. Booth announced. When Harry and Niall jointly moved their gazes to the screen, she went on, "Looks to me like you're probably about seven weeks pregnant."

"Seven weeks?" Harry intoned. "As in almost two months?"

She nodded. If that was correct, Harry had conceived sometime in the middle of the US leg of their latest tour. A condom must have broken without them realising it. Goddamn cheap US products.

"How could I be pregnant for almost two months and not know it?" Harry went on to question her.

"Male pregnancies can sometimes take a while to show symptoms," Dr. Booth told him. With a deep breath, she added, "There's more."

"More?" Harry didn't honestly think he could handle _more_.

"It looks like it's twins. Look." She pointed one at a time to two little white dots floating in a much bigger black oval. "One baby. Another baby."

Harry felt like he might be about to black out. This was all too much. His boyfriend, with whom he was closeted, had amnesia and couldn't remember who Harry was, and now Harry was pregnant with said amnesiac boyfriend's twins. Any second now the doctor would inform him that pigs could fly.

He could literally feel the blood draining from his face and the air leaving his lungs. Before he knew it, he had an oxygen mask over his mouth, and he was gulping for air. The doctor was speaking to him in a soothing voice. "Okay, Harry, breathe. Deep breaths. You're fine. Deep breaths."

As Harry gained control once again, he became aware of Niall at his side, holding fast to Harry's hand. "Good job, Harry. It's going to be all right." Niall was the very best.

After Harry felt like he could breathe on his own again, he pulled off the oxygen mask with his free hand, holding on to Niall's for just a little bit longer. "Sorry about that," he said, looking first to Niall, then to Dr. Booth.

"I take it this was not a planned pregnancy," Dr. Booth remarked wryly.

Harry could not help but laugh, although even he could tell the laughter bordered on hysterical. When he recovered, he assured her, "That is very safe to say."

"The good news is, the babies look very healthy," the doctor stated with a smile. "They are right on target for seven week twins."

A memory suddenly popping into his head made Harry gasp. "I drank beer. Just a few nights ago. Several bottles. I had no idea there were babies…."

"They look fine," Dr. Booth insisted. "A few beers isn't likely to have done too much damage, though I'd stay away from it from now on."

Harry nodded, his concern eased--for the most part. "At least this explains all the puking I've been doing."

"Another month or so and that should ease up," Dr. Booth informed him, handing him a cloth to clean the gel off his stomach.

"So, what now?" Harry asked, carefully wiping away the gel and tugging down his shirt.

"Well, you need to find an obstetrician to monitor your pregnancy, assuming you want to go through with it," she responded. "I can recommend a few who I am sure will handle your case with the utmost discretion."

"That would be great," Harry said, ignoring the part where she thought he had an out. There was no out.

"You need to tell Louis," Niall interjected.

Harry shook his head firmly. "No. Absolutely not. Not right now. Not while he doesn't even remember me."

"I get that," Niall allowed. "But they're his babies, too."

"I know. I just don't think he can handle this kind of news," Harry further explained his thinking. "And I can't handle him rejecting this on top of everything else."

Niall nodded his acknowledgement of where Harry stood. "I get that, but at some point, you're going to have a hard time keeping this a secret." He gestured meaningfully to Harry's stomach.

Harry turned his gaze back on Dr. Booth. "How long do I have before I start to show?"

"Given it's twins, I'd say you have a month, maybe two, but no more than that," she estimated.

"So I'll give him that time to work on his memory without worrying about babies," Harry declared.

"What if his memory doesn't come back?" Niall questioned.

"Can we cross that bridge when we come to it?" Harry countered with his own query.

"I guess," Niall reluctantly agreed. "What are you going to tell him when he notices you're getting sick every day?"

Harry sighed, shrugging. "That it's stress." He was aware that he didn't sound all that convincing, but this was all he had. "You'll keep my secret, yeah? Not just from Louis, but from everyone? I promise I'll deal with it once I can't hide it anymore."

"Of course," Niall promised. "Whatever you need."

"Oh!" A thought came to Harry's mind and he turned back to Dr. Booth. "When are the babies due?"

The doctor typed something into her laptop. "If you're seven weeks now, you'd be due somewhere around the tenth of May, though twins are often early."

Harry nodded. At least May seemed a while away. Time enough for Louis to hopefully recover and for him to get used to the idea of giving birth to two babies and becoming a father.

"Do you have any other questions, Harry?" Dr. Booth wanted to know.

Harry paused for a moment of thought, then answered, "Not right now."

"Then I'll get that list of obstetricians for you," she said, rising from her stool. "Just sit tight for another few minutes, then a nurse will see you out the back."

Harry reached out to shake her hand. "Thanks so much, Dr. Booth."

She smiled. "It was my pleasure. Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions."

"I won't."

While they were waiting for the nurse to come in with the list of recommended doctors, Niall thankfully gave Harry silence in which to compose himself.

As promised, the nurse who had drawn Harry's blood returned with a list of names. After checking to make sure Harry had no more questions, she showed them to the service lift.

Niall's SUV was not far from where they stepped off the lift, and they sombrely climbed in and fastened their seat belts. Niall, however, did not start the engine. Instead, he shifted himself so he could look Harry straight in the eye. "How're you doing?"

Harry proceeded to do the only thing he could think to do. Cry. Niall immediately unbuckled his seat belt and launched himself over the centre console to pull Harry into his arms.

For an embarrassingly long time, Harry sobbed into Niall's shoulder. When he was done, he pulled away, saying, "Sorry."

Niall produced a tissue from his glove box and handed it over. "You have nothing to apologise for. This is shitty timing."

"The shittiest," Harry concurred, wiping at his eyes.

"You know…," Niall began, his tone gentle and delicate. "You don't have to go through with this with everything that's going on with Louis.

The shock ran through Harry like a bolt of lightning. He shook his head violently. "I can't end this." He placed a hand on his stomach, right over the two tiny, growing babies. "They're mine. Mine and Louis'."

Niall nodded his understanding. "I know. I just wanted to make sure you were considering all your options."

"We've talked about having kids, me and Louis," Harry told him. "We were just waiting until after we came out and we had some time to really parent properly. It isn't like we didn't want this. We did. Just not now."

Niall bobbed his head again. "Yeah."

"I meant what I said in there," Harry went on. "I don't want Louis to know. Not yet."

"I meant what I said, too," Niall responded. "My lips are sealed."

"You can't tell _anyone_ , Niall," Harry reminded him.

Niall shook his head. "I promise."

"You're the best, Niall," Harry told him, tearing up once again.

Niall smiled softly. "Can I be the godfather, then?"

Dabbing at his eyes with his soggy tissue, Harry chuckled. "Absolutely."

"And if one of them is a boy, I would not object to you naming him Niall."

"I'll take that under advisement."

Niall settled back into his seat. "So, are you ready to go home, or should we go somewhere else to give you a little more time to process?"

Harry considered his options. "Maybe we can go get some food somewhere? I didn't eat much breakfast because of the nausea, and now it's way past lunch time."

"Your wish is my command. Nando's?" he asked hopefully.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle again. "Sure. Nando's is fine. We can see if the babies will let me keep that down."

Niall buckled himself up. "Woo! Nando's here we come!"

_LOUIS_

It was not long after getting out of hospital that Louis' days took on a certain routine. He'd get up in the morning, and Harry would cook him some breakfast, then Louis would spend the morning watching videos of himself being interviewed or performing. That did not cease to be weird. He did not remember a single, solitary moment. Harry would make lunch at midday, then, if the weather was fair, they would take walks and Louis would ask Harry questions. In the evening, Harry would throw together something simple for dinner, then they would relax in the lounge and watch non-One Direction TV. They would go to sleep in the same bed, but with a space between them wide enough that the other two members of One Direction could have rested in the middle with room left to spare.

Louis found he enjoyed Harry's company most of the time. Harry was sweet, funny, and kind. Louis could see how they could have become friends. There were definitely times when things were tense, however. When Louis could tell Harry wanted more from Louis than just Louis' friendship. Louis still couldn't understand how he could have gotten involved with a boy when he had been so happy with Hannah and had never questioned who he was and what he wanted. Harry had offered to share more personal, more intimate photos with Louis, but Louis was not quite ready for that.

Louis could tell that Harry was seriously bothered that his memories weren't showing any signs of returning. Harry was sick a lot--most mornings, Louis could hear Harry throwing up in the bathroom--and Harry didn't say so, but Louis thought it was all the stress of Louis' fucked-up head that was making Harry unwell.

He had been out of hospital almost two weeks when Harry needed to go out to a meeting, leaving Louis alone in the cavernous house he didn't recall purchasing. He had watched all the One Direction videos his brain could handle, and he'd gone through all the photo albums his laptop had to offer many, many times.

He needed a break. He needed out of the house and away from all the things pressing in on him, begging him to remember a life he wasn't even sure he wanted.

Harry had told him he might be a few hours, so Louis figured he had plenty of time to go out and get some fresh, pressure-free air.

The house he and Harry (supposedly) shared was just outside the City of London in Mill Hill, but was not terribly far from a rail station. Louis collected his wallet and a light jacket and started out of the house for the station.

At the last minute, he remembered Harry warning him that if he were to go out, he might be recognised, and he grabbed a beanie and a pair of aviators. Those might have belonged to Harry, actually, but Louis didn't think he'd mind.

Now he thought he was set, he journeyed out into the crisp early-October air and began the trek to the station, the direction designated by signs posted on nearby street corners. It felt so good to be outside and not surrounded by things and people he was supposed to know, but didn't.

At the station he got a few second glances, but no one approached him while he purchased a round-trip ticket that would take him right into the heart of London. He might not remember the past five years, but he remembered London well enough. He and his family had moved to Greenwich when Phoebe and Daisy had come along, and Louis and Hannah had spent many a day traipsing through London discovering all it had on offer.

On the train, Louis made sure to pull his beanie down all the way--yanking his hood up over it for good measure--and keep on his shades. Even so, he noticed a trio of girls looking over at him, giggling and whispering, and he was fairly certain he'd been recognised. They weren't bold enough to approach him, though, for which Louis was entirely thankful.

He rode the train right down to Leicester Square. That had been one of his and Hannah's most favourite spots to hang out. It was a beautiful day, and Louis figured it would be fun to just wander around. It was the middle of a workday, so most of the people walking nearby him appeared to be tourists, and they didn't pay him much mind at all, way too focused on gawking at the theatres and their marquees, snapping photos, and popping into the various shops surrounding the square.

After wandering around just a little, Louis found himself becoming a little hungry. He thought he remembered spying a McDonalds on his way into the square, and in retracing his steps, he discovered that he was correct. The moment he stepped foot into the restaurant and the smell of burgers and fries assailed him, he realised he was, in fact, famished.

He hadn't been in line for two minutes before the first young girl came up to him and tapped his upper arm. He jumped as he turned to face her. She could not have been older than sixteen. With a hopeful look on her face, she asked, "You're Louis Tomlinson, aren't you?"

"Um…." Louis was at a loss for what to say. He wasn't, after all, the Louis Tomlinson she was expecting. She was looking for One Direction Louis Tomlinson, not plain old Doncaster Transplant Louis Tomlinson. 

Undeterred by his lack of response, the girl ploughed on. "How are you feeling? It sounded like a horrible accident. Is Harry okay?"

Louis still had no idea how to answer. From what Harry had told him, the press release their management had issued had not mentioned Louis' amnesia. "I'm fine," he ventured uneasily. "Harry's okay, too."

The teenager smiled. She looked over the back of her shoulder and beckoned to two girls watching her encounter with Louis. The two girls joined their friend. "Hi, Louis!" they chorused with glee, totally oblivious to Louis' discomfort.

At their exclamation, several girls of varying ages--not to mention a few teenaged lads--turned their heads in Louis' direction. There were gasps and sobs and before Louis knew what was going on, he was surrounded by One Direction fans, all pulling on him and asking him question after question after question.

It was suddenly hard to breathe. Louis didn't even begin to know how to deal with this mob scene. The crowd around him was growing larger and larger by the minute, and Louis was seriously concerned that he was about to have a panic attack.

He could just feel himself beginning to hyperventilate when firm hands grabbed his upper arms and pushed him through the throngs of people. Louis looked behind him to see who was either rescuing or kidnapping him, and determined fairly quickly that this must be the restaurant manager. He was outfitted in sharp black trousers, a button-down shirt and a red tie. He guided Louis out of the shrieking, crying crowd, through the kitchen area, and into a small office.

Louis sank gratefully into the cushioned chair the manager led him to. He sucked in several deep breaths before looking up at his saviour to offer a sincere, "Thank you."

"You're that One Direction guy, right?" the manager asked. Louis was bad at guessing ages, but he'd have guessed this guy was in his late twenties. "The one who was in the car accident?"

Since that cat was clearly out of the bag, Louis nodded. "I am."

"Sorry about that mess out there," the manager went on. Now Louis' breathing was normalising, he could make out the manager's name tag, which read "Stephen."

Louis shook his head. "Not your fault."

"Is there anyone I can ring for you? Your security?" Stephen inquired kindly.

Louis knew he was meant to ring Harry in a situation like this, but even if he remembered Harry's number--which he didn't, and he'd left his mobile back at the house--he wasn't in the mood to listen to Harry chastising him for going out and putting himself in this position. Louis didn't even know who his security was, though he supposed there was someone assigned to him. Louis hadn't needed any guarding since he hadn't really left the house since being discharged from hospital beyond going for doctor's and therapy appointments. For those, Harry always went with him, and they used Dale, Harry's security guy.

No, Louis needed to ring someone else. Someone who wouldn't berate him for his actions. He knew just what he needed to do. "Thanks," he told Stephen. "I've got someone I can ring. Can you give me a minute?"

"Certainly," the manager agreed. "Can I get you anything to eat?"

Louis had almost forgotten what he'd come into the store for. "Sure. A Big Mac, some fries, and a Coke?"

"Sure."

Louis went to withdraw his wallet from his back pocket, but the manager stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "No, it's okay. It's the least I can do."

With a small smile, Louis said, "Thanks."

Stephen left him alone in the room, closing the door to give Louis some privacy. Louis hauled in a couple of deep breaths, then used the office phone to dial a number he did actually remember. She picked up after two rings. "Louis?"

"Hi, Mum."

He gave her the shortened version of what had happened, and she instantly told him she would come for him. He was to wait there in the manager's office until she could get there. Louis assured her he wasn't stepping foot out of there until it was safe to do so.

Stephen eventually reappeared with a takeaway bag full of food and a large drink. He told Louis he could stay there in his office for as long as he needed to. Louis informed him that he would only need the room until his mother arrived.

By the time Stephen escorted his mother into the office, Louis had long since eaten his lunch and was reading Stephen's day old _Daily Mail_ , still as trashy as it had been five years before. He was more than ready to go home.

Johannah immediately wrapped him in her arms. "Oh, baby! I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Louis murmured into her shoulder. "I should have known better. Harry did warn me."

After squeezing him to her for another long moment she pulled him away from her far enough to look him in the eye. "Where is Harry? Shouldn't he have come out with you?"

Louis shook his head. God only knew he didn't remember Harry being anything to him, but he wasn't going to let him take the fall for this. "It isn't his fault. He went to a meeting. I decided to come out by myself. He would never have let me out on my own if he had known."

"Well, still…." She did not complete her sentence, but Louis got the gist anyhow. No matter what he said, his mum was still going to blame Harry. "Are you ready to go?"

Louis nodded vigorously.

"You will come home with me, won't you? Just for a little while?" Johannah questioned, though he sensed it wasn't really a question.

"Sure. It would be nice to see the girls."

"They'll be excited to see you, too."

Louis thanked Stephen once again for all his help, then Johannah led him out of the room. "I've got a taxi waiting," she informed him. "Fair warning, though. There are some paparazzi out there. Some of your fans must have published where you were on the internet."

Louis sighed. "Great." He steeled himself for what awaited him outside the front door.

Despite her tendency toward hyperbole, his mum had not been exaggerating this time. The minute he stepped outside, he was met with the flashbulbs of what must have been more than two dozen cameras. From everywhere around him came shouts.

"Louis!"

"How are you feeling?!"

"How's Harry?!"

"Louis!"

"Stop and say something!"

"Is it true you were in a coma?"

"Louis! Louis!"

After hearing his name more times than he could count, Louis covered his ears and allowed Johannah to push him through the mess and into a waiting cab.

He heaved a sigh of relief as the door shut behind his mother. "That was crazy!" He looked outside, but only for a moment. The cameras were right outside the window, still trying to snap some pictures. He looked to Johannah. "Is it always like that?"

She sighed. "I think so. I wouldn't really know." She smiled and brushed a hand through his fringe. "It doesn't really matter. We're going home now."

Louis leaned back into the cushioned leather seat. Home. He was finally, at last, going home.

_HARRY_

By the time the front door banged open, Harry was checking to see if he'd paced a hole right into the kitchen floor.

With his mother trailing behind him, Louis waltzed into the kitchen as if Harry hadn't spent the last four hours worried sick that something terrible had happened to him.

"Louis!" Harry couldn't keep himself from yelling. "Where have you been?"

Louis had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry, Harry. I decided to go out and things got kind of out of control, so I rung Mum."

Harry pulled in a deep breath, fighting to compose himself. "You were supposed to call me if something happened."

"I know. I forgot my mobile, though, and I didn't know your number. I called Mum, and she was free. She came and took me for an afternoon at home," Louis explained.

"At home?" Harry repeated, his heart taking a nose dive into his stomach.

Louis nodded. "I got to spend some time with my sisters and my brother. It was really, really nice."

Harry didn't even know what to say. He desperately tried to shake off the feeling of dread inching its way through him.

"Mum, can I have a second with Harry?" Louis asked. He pointed to his left. "The lounge is through there."

Johannah opened her mouth to protest, but Louis shot her a look and she shut it. Without another word, she walked in the direction Louis had indicated, leaving Harry alone with Louis.

"I scared you," Louis stated when he met Harry's gaze.

"You did," Harry confirmed. "I rang everyone. No one knew where you were. I even rang the police, but they wouldn't do anything until you'd been gone longer."

Louis sighed. "I'm so sorry. I just felt so…cooped up. I wanted to go out."

"Where did you go?"

"Leicester Square."

Harry gasped. "How long did it take for someone to recognise you?"

Louis seemed a little surprised by how quickly Harry jumped to that conclusion, but he rallied to answer, "Long enough for me to go into McDonald's. First there was one girl, then another, and another, and another."

It was Harry's turn to sigh. "I could have told you that would happen. I can't believe I didn't think to check the internet."

"Does that happen every time we go anywhere?" Louis wanted to know.

With a shrug, Harry said, "Pretty much." He waited a beat, then went on, "You're back now, though. Safe at home."

Louis' face fell, and the dread Harry had been fighting latched on with a vengeance. "That's the thing, Harry. This isn't home. Not for me."

"But--"

Louis cut Harry off with a firm shake of the head. "When I was with Mum and the girls and Ernest this afternoon, I realised that this just doesn't feel like home. That does. I miss being with people I know who know me."

"I know you," Harry protested, though he sensed nothing he said was going to make any difference.

"But I don't know you," Louis countered.

His words made Harry sick to his stomach, and it had nothing to do with the tiny babies inside him.

"I'm sorry," Louis told him before Harry could say anything himself. "This just isn't working. I need to be with my family."

Harry unconsciously moved a hand to his stomach, though Louis, of course, couldn't know why. "I'm your family," Harry pointed out. "For more than five years, I've been your family."

"I wish I could remember that," Louis said, his tone sincere. "But I don't."

"Louis…."

"I'm sorry," Louis reiterated. "I have to go. I can't be here with all the pressure to remember. Not anymore."

To his horror, Harry felt tears coursing down his cheeks.

Louis offered him a sympathetic look, but straightened with resolve at the same time. "I'm just going to pack some things to take with me."

"Please…" Harry tried to say something once again, but he still couldn't find the right words.

Louis made his way toward the kitchen door. Before going through, he turned back to Harry. "I really am sorry."

No amount of sorry, however, kept Louis from packing a bag and leaving with his mother.

Harry was left alone.

* * *

Harry stood being by himself in the house approximately ten minutes before he caved and rang Niall. Niall was quick to drive right over to console Harry.

After Harry gave his bandmate the rundown on what had transpired, Niall ordered them in some pizza for dinner, and they settled in front of the television. Niall found funny movies which didn't make Harry laugh, nor did they distract him very much, but he was extremely grateful to not be alone with his thoughts.

When it was late and Harry was nodding off in front of the telly, Niall shut everything off downstairs and guided an exhausted Harry upstairs to his bedroom.

He was about to leave Harry to his bed when Harry pleaded, "Don't leave, Niall."

"I'm just going into the guest room to pass out," Niall tried to offer reassurance.

Harry shook his head. "I can't be by myself. Not right now. Please? Stay?"

It only took Niall a moment to nod. "Of course."

Harry and Niall stripped down to boxers and t-shirts (Niall's from Harry's collection) and climbed into Harry and Louis' king-size bed, each of them turning off the lamps on their respective sides of the bed.

In the short time Louis was home after being released from hospital, he and Harry had shared the same bed, though they might as well not have been, there was always so much space between them. The same was not true of Niall. Niall seemed to instinctively understand that Harry needed some comfort, and he easily drew Harry into his arms, playing big spoon to Harry's little.

It did not take long for the potent trio of stress, sorrow, and hormones to combine, reducing Harry to tears. Niall just held him tight, not saying a word, while Harry let it all out.

When he was done, save for ragged hitches of breath, Harry whispered, "He's gone, Niall. Gone for good."

"You don't know that," Niall countered. "He just needs some time."

"If he doesn't remember me, he's not going to come back," Harry lamented.

"You can't know that, either," Niall pointed out. "Even if his memory doesn't come back, I am pretty confident you can get him to fall in love with you again."

"Do you mean when I get to be as big as a whale or when I have two tiny babies needing constant attention?" Harry scoffed. "When we fell in love the first time, it was just him and me. I'm not sure he's going to sign on for raising twins."

"Don't forget they're his twins, too," Niall stated sagely. "Louis didn't just start loving kids a few years ago, he's always loved them. Once he knows they're his, I'll bet money he'll get on board. And if he hasn't fallen in love with you before, you'll fall in love while taking care of your kids."

"That would be nice," Harry opined. With a sigh, he went on, "What if you're wrong, though? What if he doesn't want any part of taking care of two kids with a virtual stranger? I'll be raising the babies all by myself." With limited success, he fought the sobs threatening to resurface.

Niall pulled Harry in even closer. "You won't be doing anything by yourself, Haz. No matter what, you have me and Liam, and don't forget your mum and dad, and Robin and Gemma. None of us will let you do anything all on your own."

Harry sniffled. "Thanks. That means a lot."

"I'm not just saying it to be nice," Niall insisted. "We love you, and we're going to love these babies." He gave Harry's still-flat tummy a little pat.

"Thanks," Harry told him again.

There was silence for just a moment, broken only by the sounds of their breathing. Niall yawned then, big and loud. "I'm knackered."

"Me, too," Harry admitted.

"We should both get some sleep, then, while we can," Niall concluded. "Come next May, there'll be two little ones demanding attention all hours of the night."

Harry chuckled. "Good point." Sobering, he asked, "You'll stay?"

"Nowhere else I'd rather be," Niall answered. "Unless of course, a hot Victoria's Secret model suddenly appears." He paused for just a second. "Nope. Looks like I'm out of luck. You're stuck with me."

Harry smiled softly. "Thanks, Niall."

"Any time, H. Night."

Harry pressed his back close to Niall's chest. "Good night." 

* * *

Harry had no idea what time it was when he woke up with the most debilitating nausea he'd ever experienced in his life. He disentangled himself from Niall's light embrace without a moment's worry about waking his friend, then bolted into the bathroom in time to lose what felt not just like the two slices of pizza he'd managed at dinner, but every single one of his internal organs.

The press of a cool cloth to his forehead made him jump. In between heaves, he looked up just to confirm it was Niall. His bandmate had flipped on one half of the bathroom lights and was gazing down at Harry, clearly worried.

Niall rested a gentle hand to Harry's upper back as Harry retched over and over until all he was doing was dry heaving. When he was done, he collapsed onto the floor, Niall crouching down next to him.

"That seemed worse than at the hospital," Niall remarked in a tone laced with concern.

"Feels worse, too," Harry noted hoarsely.

After a few moments, Niall inquired, "Think you can stand?"

Harry honestly didn't know. Reaching his hands down to the floor to help himself rise, he only got halfway before his head swam and his vision dimmed. He dropped back to the floor. "I can't."

"Give yourself another minute or two. Deep breaths, yeah?" Niall suggested.

With a slight nod, Harry agreed. He pulled in several deep breaths, exhaling each one slowly. When he thought he was ready, he tried once more to get up off the floor. He managed to get all the way upright this time, but his head was still swimming, and his vision was blurry.

Niall grabbed Harry's left arm and ducked under to support Harry's weight. "Steady there, H. You're white as a ghost."

"I feel like shit," Harry whispered in return. He amended, "Actually, I feel worse than shit."

They slowly moved back toward the bed, Harry stumbling as if he were drunk. Drunk felt better than what Harry was feeling, though. Halfway to their goal, Harry's knees buckled and Harry's head suddenly became lighter than air. Niall quickly grabbed onto Harry's other side to make it a more gradual slide to the carpet.

"Harry?" Niall reached a hand up to Harry's forehead. Harry almost shook it off, it was so cold.

"Sorry," Harry apologised. "So dizzy."

"That's it, we're going to hospital," Niall declared, obviously making an executive decision. "Do you think you can make it to my car or shall I ring 9-9-9?"

"Can we try the car?" Harry asked. Getting an ambulance to come seemed a dire last resort.

"Let's give it a shot."

Niall left Harry's side long enough to grab them both joggers and t-shirts. Niall threw his own on before helping Harry. Once they were both clothed, they slowly worked their way downstairs. It was slow-going, but Harry thankfully didn't pass out, though he felt on the verge of it several times.

When they reached the front door, they stopped only to slip on their trainers--Niall helping Harry out again--before heading out to Niall's car.

Niall secured Harry in the passenger seat before sliding into the driver's seat. He consulted his mobile for the closest hospital, then headed for Finchley Memorial, just a couple miles away by his GPS's estimation. The LED in the dash said it was 4:18 a.m. At least they wouldn't hit much traffic.

Harry gasped loudly as Niall was pulling the car out onto the street, gripping his stomach tight with both hands.

Niall slammed on the brakes so he could look directly at Harry. "What? Do you need to throw up again?"

Tears coursed down Harry's cheeks. "What if something's wrong with the babies?" While he'd been busy being violently ill, he had presumed it was just some hyped-up morning sickness, but now he was in the car, his mind started working through some worst case scenarios.

"I'm sure they're fine," Niall attempted to be reassuring. "This is probably just all the stress you're under making the morning sickness worse than it should be."

"But what if it isn't? What if I did something to hurt them? What if they aren't okay?" Harry's voice grew shriller with each question he asked.

Niall removed his hand from the steering wheel to reach over and squeeze Harry's knee. "It's going to be okay, Haz."

Harry turned a hard gaze on Niall. "You can't know that."

"And you can't know that it's not," Niall countered, raising his eyebrows pointedly.

It took a moment, but Harry finally gave a curt nod.

Niall returned his hand to the steering wheel. "Breathe deep, Harry. We'll be at the hospital in no time."

Harry was pretty sure Niall broke some traffic laws to do it, but they were stumbling into the A&E less than ten minutes later, Niall calling for help.

A nurse guided the two young men to a cubicle with a bed. She urged Harry to climb onto the bed and assured him a doctor would be in to see him momentarily. Niall took a position on a stool to Harry's right, resting a hand on Harry's arm to offer much-needed support. The nurse closed a curtain around them for privacy.

It wasn't long at all before a young doctor sidled through the opening in the curtain. "Good morning, gentlemen. I'm Dr. Jeremy Chambers."

"Harry Styles," Harry returned. The name, thankfully, didn't seem to register with the doctor as familiar. "And this is my friend, Niall."

Dr. Chambers offered a small smile in acknowledgement of the introductions. "Well, then, Harry, what seems to be the problem?"

"I woke up a little while ago with nausea like I've never had before," Harry explained. "It made me throw up over and over, then I was really dizzy and light-headed when I tried to get up. I'm still pretty dizzy now."

"Hm," Dr. Chambers said. "Had you been sick before this?"

Harry nodded ruefully before rushing through his response. "I've been sick on and off for a few weeks. I was in a car accident last month, and I thought it was related to all that stress, but I recently found out I'm pregnant. But this nausea tonight was so much worse. Could something be wrong with the babies?"

"Were there any other symptoms aside from the vomiting and the light-headedness?" the doctor wanted to know.

This time Harry shook his head.

"Okay, then, let's check you out to see if we can figure out what's going on," Dr. Chambers suggested, pulling a penlight from his jacket pocket.

The doctor checked Harry's eyes, Harry's ears, and felt around his stomach in an effort to make a diagnosis. He asked, "How far along are you?"

"Nine weeks."

Dr. Chambers went on. "And you said 'babies'. There's more than one?"

"Two," Harry replied. "Twins."

"Well, I think we may be dealing with hyperemesis gravidarum, but I want to do an ultrasound just to make sure everything's okay in there," the doctor said.

Niall inserted himself into the conversation with a question. "What's hyper gravidum?"

"Hyperemesis gravidarum," Dr. Chambers gently corrected. "It's severe nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy. It happens a lot with male pregnancy, but usually disappears by the start of the second trimester."

"So, my babies are okay?" Harry checked.

"This condition is miserable for the pregnant person, but it doesn't normally affect the foetus," the doctor assured him. "I'm going to get the ultrasound machine, then we'll get you on some fluids which will hopefully make you feel better."

"Thanks," Harry told him, feeling only a little better. He couldn't really be calm until he knew for sure that the babies were all right.

When the doctor left to go get the machine he needed, Harry turned to Niall. "Maybe you should call Management to make sure someone gets here with some NDAs." The last thing he needed was for the nurse who'd brought them in to call _The Sun_.

Niall nodded and stepped outside the cubicle to make the call. Harry used the brief time alone to try some deep breathing to soothe the nausea struggling for a comeback.

By the time Niall was done with his call, Dr. Chambers was back with a portable ultrasound machine to check on the babies. Just as Dr. Booth had, Dr. Chambers urged Harry to lift his shirt, then he squeezed some gel just under Harry's butterfly tattoo. He gently placed the ultrasound wand in the gel, examining the monitor as he swirled the wand around.

"There," he declared after a moment. With his free hand, he pointed to the screen. "One baby. Another baby. They look just fine." It was like déjà vu, Dr. Chambers almost repeating Dr. Booth's exact words from a couple weeks ago.

Harry heaved a sigh of relief.

"Now we can see the babies are doing all right, it's time to take care of you, Harry," the doctor went on. "I'm going to admit you, and we'll do a round of fluids, then we'll re-evaluate."

"Any chance of a private room?" Niall posed a question to the doctor. "Harry and I are kind of in a band, and we'd prefer a room where we won't be seen."

"A band?" Dr. Chambers echoed curiously.

"One Direction?" Niall raised his eyebrows with equal curiosity.

The doctor furrowed his brow. "I think I've heard of you. Boy band, yeah?"

"Yeah," Harry confirmed with a small smile.

Smirking, Dr. Chambers said, "Not really my kind of music, but I get your point about the private room. I can make that happen with a minimum of people helping."

"Cheers," Niall said.

"A nurse will be back in just a few minutes to admit you and see you to a room," Dr. Chambers stated. "I'll be by to check on you in a few hours."

"Thanks," Harry responded before the doctor slipped back through the curtains.

Niall cleared his throat nervously. "Haz?"

Harry shifted his gaze to Niall's face. "Hm?"

"Do you think it might be time to let someone else know what's going on? Maybe your mum, your dad, or Gemma?" Niall suggested carefully.

Harry instantly shook his head. "No. Not yet. I can't deal with anyone else knowing." He could feel himself getting more and more piqued, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Okay. Okay." Niall spoke gently, clearly trying to keep Harry together.

After breathing deeply, Harry added, "I know I won't be able to hide it for very much longer, but I just need a little more time to process everything. Does that make sense?"

Niall nodded. "It does."

Harry gave him a tiny smile. "Thanks for being here with me, Ni. You have no idea what it means to have someone to lean on."

Niall returned Harry's smile. "I'm happy to help." These words were followed by a huge yawn. "Sorry!"

Harry caught the yawn. "Maybe when they get me a room, they can get you a cot. These babies need to get better body clocks."

As Niall chuckled, a nurse appeared. She introduced herself as Maisie and presented Harry with a small sheaf of papers to sign. When he'd done that, she informed him that they had a private room ready. A second nurse--this one was called Rupert--brought in a wheelchair, and between Rupert and Niall, Harry was safely ensconced in it in no time at all.

They had to go up two floors, but soon, Harry was settled in a bed with an IV delivering both fluids and anti-nausea medicine. Harry began to feel relief almost straight away. He felt well enough, in fact, to enjoy Niall's colourful rendition of the day's sports news, as read from his iPhone.

As he spent the rest of the morning taking in fluids and listening to Niall both rant and wax rhapsodic about how his football club was doing, Harry had time to accept that the next seven months were going to be very, very, very long.

_LOUIS_

Being at home was amazing. While he'd been staying with Harry. Louis had felt lost. In the house he grew up in, though, with his mum and his siblings, he felt found. Even if he didn't remember the youngest twins, Doris and Ernest. He was just excited to finally have a brother.

Every day, he ate breakfast with Lottie, Fizzy, Phoebe, and Daisy, then saw Phoebe and Daisy off to school--though the girls did complain about their famous brother walking them to school. Once the girls were gone, he would play with the baby twins and spend time with his mum, catching up on all that had gone on when he left home.

Late afternoon and evenings belonged to Hannah. She was attending university, but still lived at home. She would find Louis as soon as she got done with her classes. Louis spent each moment with her working his hardest to reconnect with her. Despite his affection for her, it was clear from her behaviour that they'd been separated while he did the One Direction thing.

One beautiful, unusually warm Saturday morning in mid-October, Hannah suggested they go on a hike at a popular nearby trail. She even said she would pack a picnic and they could eat lunch outside. It was likely this would be the last chance to do so before the chill of autumn set in. At Hannah's suggestion, Louis donned a beanie and a pair of aviators in hopes of avoiding a repeat of McDonalds.

Louis carried the basket of food, while Hannah toted the blanket.

"I can't believe how warm it is for the middle of October," Hannah commented.

"It really is gorgeous," Louis agreed, gazing at all the beautiful fall colours in the trees lining the path they'd chosen.

"It's been such a long week," Hannah said with a sigh.

Louis shrugged. "It's been nice. Phoebe and Daisy have gotten so big, and the babies are amazing. So much fun to play with."

"Do you think they'll make you go back to work soon?" Hannah wondered aloud. "You are under a contract, aren't you?"

Louis shrugged once again. "I am, but they haven't said anything. The others negotiated a one-month break for me, and I've still got another couple weeks or so. I guess we'll see what happens when my time's up."

"Okay. It'll be nice having you around for however long you can."

The two walked in companionable silence for a little while, enjoying the fresh air and the pretty scenery. They only got a couple sideways glances from other hikers, but no one approached Louis to see if he was who they thought he was.

They discovered a relatively private spot under a tree a little way off the path. The sun streamed through the trees overhead, creating dapples of light on the leaf-covered ground. Hannah spread out the blanket, and Louis set the basket in one corner before dropping into the middle of the blanket himself.

Hannah sat down demurely by his side and reached for the basket. "I've got sandwiches and crisps, beer and water, and chocolate for dessert."

"Sounds yummy," Louis observed, holding his hand out for one of the wrapped sandwiches and a bottle of beer. "I'm starved."

After a few bites of the delicious roast beef sandwich, Louis turned a serious look in Hannah's direction and sighed.

"What?" Hannah asked, brow furrowed.

Louis paused just another moment to compose his thoughts. "My mum says that I haven't really spoken to them since I was on _X-Factor_ and One Direction was formed."

Hannah nodded.

"Did you and I talk, or did I cut you off, too?" Louis wanted to know. It was something he'd been curious about ever since waking up from the coma. He and Hannah had been joined at the hip last he remembered, and it was hard to imagine him distancing himself from that. He hadn't quite had the courage to ask her about it until just then, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"It must be so nice," Hannah remarked, as if she hadn't even heard his query. When he shot a quizzical look at her, she explained, "Being back home, away from all those photographers, away from the band."

"I guess," Louis agreed. "It was a lot to handle."

"I'll bet you were really confused about Harry," she went on, continuing to be a little cryptic with her words.

"What do you mean?" he inquired directly.

Hannah cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter. "You asked whether or not you cut me off. You didn't. I mean, we didn't see each other as often as we'd have liked, but we definitely got together when we could."

"So, we didn't break up?" Louis was struggling to follow Hannah's train of thought.

Hannah shook her head. "Not really. We couldn't be together as far as the public was concerned, but in secret, we were."

"Then what was going on with Harry?" Whether or not Louis could remember it, it was clear that he and Harry had lived together, had been something more than mere friends. He couldn't imagine what Hannah was getting at.

"You were humouring him," she stated.

"Sorry?" If Louis had, indeed, been confused about Harry, he was even more confused now.

"You're best friends, that's true," Hannah informed him. "But he'd like there to be more to it than that. He's had a huge crush on you ever since _X-Factor_. You told me that you didn't want to risk your friendship by turning him down. So you kept living with him, but you were actually seeing me."

That didn't sound very legit, but Louis had no other information from which to work. Damned amnesia. He'd have to take Harry's word and Hannah's word and pay a lot of attention to figure out what the truth was. If he'd been a betting person--and he didn't even know if he was at this point--he'd have bet the truth was somewhere squarely in between what Harry had told him and what Hannah had told him. He just wished he knew what truth he could live with.

Louis took a swig from his bottle that drained it. "You done?" he questioned Hannah.

Hannah popped a final bite of sandwich into her mouth. "Yep."

"Let's get up and hike a little more," Louis suggested, already collecting his rubbish and putting it in the basket to throw out later.

"Sure." Hannah stood, and Louis followed. When they were both clear of it, Hannah folded the blanket, and Louis hefted the now-lighter basket.

"Any particular direction you'd like to go in?" Louis asked.

Hannah smiled brightly. "Doesn't matter to me. Let's just pick a path and see what we can see."

"Okay," Louis concurred. "Let's see what we can see."

* * *

Louis' month-long break was nearly up when he was summoned to a meeting at Modest! Management's corporate offices in the middle of London. With reluctance, he climbed into the limousine they sent for him and settled back for the ride.

When he arrived at the glass-fronted building, he was met by an assistant who introduced herself as Meredith. She walked him inside, up the lift, and into a conference room where Harry, Liam, and Niall already waited. He took the empty seat next to Liam, putting Liam and Niall between him and Harry.

"Hey, Louis, how're you doing?" Niall asked cordially.

Louis shrugged. "Okay."

"Any luck with the memories at your mum's?" Liam wondered aloud.

This time, Louis shook his head. "No. Nothing's come back yet." He shifted his gaze over to Harry, expecting him to say something next, but Harry just gazed back at Louis sadly. He looked extremely pale and as if he hadn't slept in a very long time. Louis found himself unable to hold in his concern. "Are you okay, Harry?"

Harry offered a minute nod.

Louis was on the verge of countering Harry's response when two men entered the room and sat in seats across from the band. They immediately looked over at Louis and the older one inquired, "Do you recognise us, Louis?"

Louis studied them for a few seconds--just in case--then shook his head. "Sorry."

The older-looking of the two men said, "I'm Harry Magee, and this is Richard Griffiths." He gestured to his colleague.

"Why are we here?" Niall asked. Louis didn't miss Niall glancing over at the younger Harry with concern etched into his features. Louis couldn't help but wonder what that was about. In addition, Louis immediately started referring to Harry Magee as "Magee" in his head to help discriminate between the two Harrys.

Louis was pulled from his reverie by Richard answering Niall's query. "We need to discuss the tour."

"The tour?" Harry repeated, growing even paler, something Louis hadn't imagined was possible.

"We managed to reschedule most of your dates from September and October to December and January," Richard explained.

"During the holidays?" Liam asked, his tone incredulous.

"No, no," Magee responded quickly. "You'll have a two-and-a-half-week break that will cover Christmas and New Year's--and, of course, Louis' birthday."

Niall, Harry, and Liam all sighed while Louis' mind boggled. "I can't go on a tour. I don't know any of the songs."

Magee countered, "That's why we've arranged for rehearsals in November for you to practice and relearn the songs."

Louis shook his head once more. "I don't think I can do that."

Magee squeezed his lips together briefly before saying, "You have to. You're under contract."

"Contract?" Louis echoed.

Richard nodded. "We know this will be hard for you, but you are under contract, amnesia or not. You--all of you," his gaze swept the entire table, "are expected at rehearsals in one week's time."

"Is this really a good idea?" Liam inquired.

"We hope so," Richard answered, his tone dripping fake brightness.

Niall shot Louis a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, Louis. We'll help you out, and you'll be fine."

Liam nodded his head in agreement, smiling in Louis' direction. "Absolutely."

The tightness in Louis' chest eased some at Niall and Liam's reassurances. He wished he had a choice in this matter, but if indeed he didn't, at least he would have help.

Liam returned his attention to Richard and Magee. "What about the album? I know we said at the last meeting that we should go ahead and release it on schedule, but…." He tilted his head toward Louis. "We can't ask Louis to do promo." Louis shuddered at the mere thought.

"Well, we can't postpone it now. It's coming out on the thirteenth. We'll just do as much promo as we can with the other three of you, and it will be what it will be," Magee explained.

Liam gave a crisp nod which was copied by Harry and Niall. Louis had no memory of how all of this worked, but he assumed there was a fair amount of money on the line here, so it made sense they didn't want to hold back the album as well as the tour.

Harry turned his head toward Richard and Magee. "I need a private word with you, if we're done here."

Both Richard and Magee blinked in surprise. "Of course," Magee replied. "I think we're done with what we had to say. Someone will send you the rehearsal information, the new tour schedule, and the interview schedule. Any questions?"

Louis watched Liam and Niall shake their heads, then he did the same.

"Very well, then," Magee declared. "We'll see you at rehearsals."

Liam stood first, then Louis and Niall followed. They were halfway to the door when Harry piped up. "Niall? Can you stay?"

Niall stopped in his tracks. "Sure." He sat right back down next to Harry.

"Shall we wait downstairs for you, H?" Liam wanted to know.

Harry shrugged. "If you like."

"C'mon, Louis," Liam entreated. "Let's see if we can dig up some coffee. They make the best here."

Louis dutifully followed Liam back through the doorway, closing it carefully behind him for Harry's privacy.

Liam was already halfway down the hall in search of caffeine. Louis wasn't altogether sure he couldn't use something just a little bit stronger.

_HARRY_

For the first time since finding out he wasn't the only one occupying his body, Harry felt nauseated for other reasons. Well, an adjacent reason, he supposed, if he had to put a finer point on it.

Richard cleared his throat impatiently, making it abundantly clear to Harry that he was ready to get whatever this was out of the way.

Harry looked to Niall for support, and under the table, Niall gripped Harry's thigh and squeezed it. The tightness in Harry's chest eased ever so slightly.

Clearing his own throat, Harry began, "If we're doing promo in November and touring in December and January, there's something you need to know."

"Is this something to do with Louis and his memory?" Magee questioned. "Because if it is, we're handling it. We've got someone in marketing working on the best way to handle the question of his amnesia during promo and once you all go back on the road."

Harry shook his head. "It's not about that, though Louis is involved."

"Okay," Magee allowed, as he appraised Harry with curiosity.

There was really no way to soft-pedal this, Harry recognised, even as he struggled with a way to ease into the news. He sighed and looked down at the table before announcing, "I'm pregnant."

Magee and Richard executed simultaneous gasps. In any other situation, that would have been absolutely hilarious. In this one, not so much. Harry risked a glance up just in time for the management executives to display simultaneous looks of horror.

Richard recovered a bit more quickly than his colleague. "Are you sure?" he asked Harry.

Harry nodded. "I'm three months along."

Magee's eyes shifted upwards, telling Harry he was performing some mental calculations. When he looked back over at Harry, he concluded, "Then you're due in May?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "Though it could be earlier. I'm having twins."

"Twins?" Richard repeated, sounding as if he might be choking.

"Yes."

"And they're Louis'?" Magee inquired, though his tone indicated that he already knew the answer.

"Yes." Harry was beginning to feel like a broken record, though he had something to add this time. "He doesn't know, though, and I don't want to tell him just yet, so this needs to be between the four of us for now."

"If you're three months pregnant with twins, you're not going to be able to hide that much longer," Richard told him, clearly speaking from his wife's experience with pregnancy.

"I know," Harry assured him, absently rubbing the tiny bump which had popped in his belly only two days earlier. "But I'm hoping if I give him a little more time, his memory will return and this won't be quite such a shock."

"We understand," Richard said, not completely unkindly.

Magee sighed heavily. "Well, we'll have to leave the album promo to Liam and Niall, I suppose. We'll have someone get right to work on a strategy to make a statement at some point before the tour begins," Magee informed Harry, though he acknowledged Niall's presence in his gaze. "I would suggest trying to keep your public outings to a minimum, however, or we may not be able to control the media."

Harry nodded again. "I understand."

"Well…," Richard started hesitantly. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Harry accepted. He realised it was the first proper congratulations he'd gotten, and even if it was from his management, he still got a tiny lump in his throat.

"We'll be in touch with all the details of how we want to handle this in the press, which would, I guess, include you--and Louis--coming out," Magee said by way of putting a cap on their conversation.

"Thank you." Harry pushed his chair back and stood, Niall following suit.

Once they were out in the hallway, Magee and Richard safely behind a closed conference room door, Niall queried of Harry, "Are you okay?"

Harry took a moment to consider Niall's question, then nodded. "I think so."

Niall paused for thought, then asked another question. "Are you sure you don't want to go ahead and tell Louis now? Get it over with?"

Harry violently shook his head. "No. Not yet. I'm barely showing, and I want Louis to have a little more time with his memory before springing this on him. It's a lot."

"Okay," Niall relented. "I'm still not sure you're making the right choice, but it's your choice."

"You'll still keep my secret, won't you, Ni? Please?" Harry begged.

"Of course," Niall promised.

Harry sighed with relief. "Thank you."

"Ready to head down to meet Li and Lou?" Niall checked.

"Sure." Harry gestured for Niall to take the lead.

As Niall led the way to the lifts, Harry breathed one more sigh of relief. Tricky Conversation With Management was over. Now if only he didn't have several more Tricky Conversations in store….

* * *

Harry had not been so nervous about rehearsing and singing since his first _X-Factor_ audition. As his ride pulled up to the nondescript building in which they would be reacquainting Louis with their music, Harry felt butterflies crashing around in his stomach. When the butterflies were combined with the persistent nausea brought on by his pregnancy, Harry was concerned he might have to spend much of the rehearsal in the toilet.

He took his time collecting his things and heading into the building. When he got to the space where the band was set up, Liam and Niall were already there. No sign of Louis yet.

"Do you think he might not show?" Liam wondered as they all sipped on cups of tea in deference to the chilly November air outside.

Niall shrugged. "Dunno. He seemed okay with the idea at our meeting. He's probably just late."

Liam turned to Harry. "You doing okay? You look a bit pale there."

Harry sighed. "I'm just really tired and stressed."

"I'm sure Louis will get his memory back soon," Liam declared. "Maybe singing our songs will trigger something."

Louis had listened to many of their songs already, when he'd been back at their house, and nothing had clicked, but Harry felt bad about diminishing Liam's positive outlook, so he just neutrally said, "Maybe."

Liam was about to say something else when Louis came into the rehearsal area. He looked about as nervous as Harry felt, and it tore Harry up that there was quite literally nothing he could do to help Louis out. Not while Louis refused to acknowledge that he and Harry were a couple.

"Hello, Lou!" Liam greeted him brightly. "Ready to get started?"

The look on Louis' face said he'd rather not, but his spoken answer was, "Sure."

They began by just playing a few songs for Louis, getting him used to the sound of the live band and giving him an idea of the songs they'd picked to perform in concert. Management had sent over some lyric sheets for Louis, and he dutifully followed along while Liam, Harry, and Niall worked through a set of songs which had been written for four--or five--voices.

After they'd played through their set list once, Louis joined them, and they painstakingly began adding him in. The lyric sheet helpfully noted Louis' parts, and Liam and Niall quickly proved to be very good at guiding Louis along. Harry was busy trying not to cry about how indifferent Louis seemed to be toward him while also struggling with his near-constant nausea.

Hard as he tried, Harry did have to excuse himself several times to throw up, and by the time they decided to call it a day, he was more than ready to go home, curl up under his duvet, and release all of the tears he'd valiantly held in all day.

The next few days passed in a similar fashion. They would meet at the building, practice a few songs over and over and over, then end the day in a state of pure exhaustion. Louis was catching on, however, and the good news was that they were all becoming more confident they might actually be ready when the first tour dates arrived.

Harry woke up on the Thursday of the first week of rehearsals feeling more nauseated than usual. He spent long enough hunched over the toilet that he was late arriving to their rehearsal space.

Liam's first words to him when he moved slowly into the room were, "You all right there, Haz? You look like you just stepped off the set of _The Walking Dead_."

"Gee, thanks," Harry shot back.

"No, really," Liam said more soberly. "You look really pale."

Harry shrugged. "I'm just not sleeping well. I'll rest on the weekend, and I'm sure I'll be fine by Monday."

Liam looked dubious, but allowed, "Okay. If you say so."

They had made it only as far as the fourth song of their set list, "Girl Almighty," when Harry needed to leave the stage, making a run for the bathroom. He didn't even make it to a stall before throwing up the first time. He'd made it to an actual toilet by the time Niall came to check on him.

"Oh my God, Haz!" Niall exclaimed, stepping into the stall behind Harry. He placed a soothing hand on Harry's lower back. It was sad that he'd gotten used to helping Harry through this.

Harry couldn't even answer Niall. Instead, he began to cry, a bad idea when one is also dry heaving.

"Harry, you're shaking," Niall noted worriedly.

Now that Niall mentioned it, Harry did notice that he was shaking from head to toe. This was a new, not exceptionally pleasant symptom.

"I'm calling 9-9-9," Niall announced.

Harry started to protest when he heard the tinny sound of Niall dialling on his mobile, but another wave of nausea struck, killing any protest he might have offered. He simply listened as Niall gave the emergency services a rundown of Harry's symptoms and their current address.

"They'll be here in less than ten minutes," Niall reported when he signed off. 

By this time, Harry had crumpled, resting his head on the toilet seat. He managed a nod in acknowledgment of Niall's statement, then lifted himself up onto his knees for some more heaving.

As that round was coming to an end, Liam's voice echoed in the bathroom. "Harry? Niall? Everything okay in there?"

"Don't tell him," Harry begged in a whisper.

Niall sighed, but replied to Liam's query with a very vague, "Might be some food poisoning. He's pretty sick."

"Shall I call 9-9-9?"

"Already did," Niall informed him. "Show them back here when they arrive?"

"Absolutely," Liam agreed.

Harry was becoming concerned he might pass out when the paramedics finally arrived. Between them and Niall, Harry was guided onto a gurney and carted out to the ambulance past a very anxious Liam and a confused Louis. Harry didn't have the energy to help either of them out, and all Niall told them was that he would ride in the ambulance with Harry. They could meet them at the hospital if they so chose.

As the emergency vehicle sped toward the closest hospital, Harry felt himself falling in and out of consciousness. He was only marginally aware of Niall explaining to the paramedics that Harry was three and a half months pregnant with twins and that he had had persistent nausea for at least the last seven or eight weeks. He even remembered that the last time Harry had gone to the hospital he had been diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. Harry was given an IV of fluids before they ever pulled up to the A&E entrance.

Harry was barely ensconced in a private cubicle when a young female doctor appeared, introducing herself as Brie Jackson. "So, what appears to be going on here?"

Harry didn't have to say anything immediately, since Niall explained to Dr. Jackson exactly what he'd explained to the paramedics in the ambulance, adding in the part about the violent shaking Harry had experienced.

"Hm, that does sound like hyperemesis gravidarum," the doctor concluded. "Usually that dissipates as the pregnancy enters its second trimester."

"Well, it definitely isn't getting any better," Harry told her ruefully. "I am sick all hours of the day and night."

"Unfortunately, in certain cases this condition can continue throughout the pregnancy," Dr. Jackson stated soberly.

Harry wanted to cry. He didn't want to deal with this for five and a half more months. His distress must have shown on his face because Niall was quick to grip Harry's forearm in solidarity. "I'm right here, Haz."

Harry swallowed thickly. "Thanks, Ni."

Dr. Jackson did a quick exam to check Harry's vitals, then said, "What I'd like to do is admit you and get you some more fluids and an ultrasound to check on your babies. In general, this condition doesn't affect the foetus--or foetuses--"

"That's what the other doctor said," Harry interjected.

The doctor nodded, then continued, "Even though that's almost always the case, I'd still like to check, especially since this is both a male pregnancy and a multiple pregnancy."

"Okay," Harry agreed.

"I'm going to have a nurse transport you to the ultrasound. The on-call obstetrician will meet you there, then when your babies are all checked out, we'll get you into a private room with some fluids, hopefully getting you feeling better." Dr. Jackson smiled warmly as she concluded her plan.

"Okay," Harry repeated. "I'm all for feeling better."

"Great. A nurse will be right in," the doctor said before she exited Harry's cubicle.

She hadn't lied. A nurse entered the cubicle less than a minute later to guide Harry's gurney out of the cubicle, down the hall, into a lift and down a hallway to an ultrasound room, Niall right at Harry's side the entire way. Once they arrived at their destination, Niall and the nurse helped Harry onto the exam table, situating his IV pole right nearby.

The nurse assured Harry and Niall that an obstetrician would be along momentarily, then the nurse left to return the gurney to A&E and attend to his other chores.

"How're you feeling?" Niall asked Harry, jumping up onto a stool and scooting it over to Harry's side.

"A little better," Harry replied. The fluids were definitely helping.

A ding from Niall's pocket had him checking his texts. "Liam and Louis are here. Should I tell them to meet us in your room in just a little bit?"

Harry paled at the thought of dealing with Louis, but nodded anyhow. "I guess."

Another white-coated person entered the room. "Mr. Styles?" she confirmed.

"Yes."

The woman held her hand out first to Harry, then Niall. "I'm Dr. Catherine Walsh."

"Harry Styles, Niall Horan," Harry introduced.

"I understand you have some babies who are giving you a bit of a rough time," Dr. Walsh said, already switching on a monitor.

Harry nodded.

"Well, let's check out what's going on with your little ones. Lift your shirt up, please," she requested.

Harry wiggled around on the table to get himself into a more comfortable position, then lifted his shirt, exposing his growing bump. He was getting a little bit bigger every day, and he knew it wouldn't be long before he couldn't hide his condition from his family or his friends who weren't Niall.

"This'll be cold," the doctor warned seconds before squeezing some gel onto his belly, just as the doctor at his first ultrasound had done.

Harry hissed, but was soon distracted by Dr. Walsh placing her wand in the centre of the swirl of gel. She directed his attention to the monitor just overhead. "Look, there they are." She used her free hand to point to the two tiny circles swimming in a sea of black. "They're laying right on top of each other."

Harry focused on the monitor and the two little circles who were causing all his distress. "Are they okay?" he asked the doctor.

"They look just fine," Dr. Walsh responded. "You look to be about three to four months along. Am I correct?"

"Fourteen weeks," Harry confirmed.

"They appear to be right on track, then."

"Me being so sick isn't hurting them?" Harry posed his second-most pressing question.

"Absolutely not," the doctor assured him.

Harry sighed with relief.

"Can you tell if they're girls or boys?" Niall wondered aloud.

"Niall…," Harry began to protest. He wasn't sure he wanted that information quite yet.

"Can't tell quite yet," Dr. Walsh replied, rendering Harry's protest moot. "In just a few weeks, though, it should be clear what gender they are."

Harry would need every moment of those few weeks to psych himself up for hearing that kind of news alone, instead of with Louis.

The doctor lifted the wand from Harry's stomach and handed him a cloth to clean up with. She then turned to her computer and made an entry. "Here's a photo for you." She reached to the nearby printer for the ultrasound photo and handed it to Harry.

It was his first photo of the babies. He had not thought to ask for a print-out at either of his previous ultrasounds. He had been in shock during the first one and incredibly nauseous at his second.

He couldn't stop staring at the picture of his and Louis' unexpected little ones; he was still having such a hard time believing they were coming. The doctor had to tap his arm to get his attention again. "A nurse will be along shortly to see you to a room for the night. With some fluids and rest, you should be feeling better by the morning."

Harry gave her a smile. "Thanks so much."

She stood from her stool. "Please don't hesitate to let the nurses know if the IV isn't helping."

Harry nodded his understanding and promised, "I won't."

Dr. Walsh bade Harry and Niall goodbye, then left them all alone again.

Niall waited approximately half a second before inquiring, "So, what are we telling Liam and Louis?"

Harry sighed. "I guess it's time to tell Liam. I should also tell my mum and dad and Gem."

"And Louis…?"

"I can't tell him," Harry stated firmly. 

"Why?"

"He just doesn't feel anything for me anymore," Harry said, the words still a stab at his heart. "I don't want him to feel obligated to me."

"Harry…." Niall pulled in a deep breath. "You're having his babies. He deserves to know."

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, he looked at Niall, a serious look on his face. "Not yet. I meant what I said at our meeting with Management. I want to give him a little more time and see if his memories come back."

Niall held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. But you're not going to be able to hide this for a whole lot longer." He gestured to Harry's middle.

"I know. Just a couple more weeks."

As Niall was opening his mouth to respond, there was a knock on the exam room door, and a nurse came into the room with a wheelchair. Niall closed his mouth, but Harry knew Niall hadn't said his last words on the topic of Louis.

Harry was soon safely installed in the wheelchair. Niall followed behind as the nurse pushed Harry down the hall and into a lift. They headed up three floors to a private corner room, where Harry and his IV were settled in for the duration of his stay.

The nurse got Harry all tucked in and pointed out the call button Harry could press if he required assistance, then she left to attend to other patients.

No sooner was Harry in bed than there was a knock on the door. Harry called permission to enter, and Liam and Louis came into the room.

Liam immediately moved to Harry's side, while Louis hung back, seemingly unsure of his place in all this. It broke Harry's heart to be faced with a Louis who didn't command and control a room.

"One of the nurses told us you'd be moved up to this floor when you were done in A&E, so we've been in the waiting room up here," Liam told his bandmates. "How're you feeling, Haz?"

"Better." Harry answered. "It's just dehydration and exhaustion. I'll be fine in a couple days."

"Whew!" Liam grinned. "Good job it's the end of rehearsals for the week. Tomorrow is the album release, and Niall and I are going to handle that. You'll have the whole weekend to rest before we try more rehearsals."

Harry nodded.

Louis cleared his throat before uncomfortably offering, "I'm glad you're okay, Harry."

"Thanks," Harry said, even if he wasn't at all okay with Louis' discomfort. It should be him standing where Niall was, seeing Harry through this less-than-pleasant part of his pregnancy.

"How long do you have to stay here?" Louis asked, clearly trying to make conversation.

"Until tomorrow," Harry told him. "Assuming I'm okay in the morning, they'll release me."

Louis shot him a small smile. "I'm glad."

There didn't seem much left to say, so they all stood around in an awkward silence.

The third time Louis consulted his watch, Harry informed the room at large, "None of you need to stay here on my account. I'm in hospital, so I'm well taken care of."

"I'll stay just a little bit longer," Niall insisted. "If that's okay."

Harry nodded his consent.

"You sure you don't need anything?" Liam checked.

"Thanks, but I'm good," Harry assured him.

"If you really are okay now, I do think I'll head home," Louis said. "These last few days have been really exhausting."

Harry nodded once more. "Of course. Go. We'll see you on Monday."

Louis executed a tiny wave, then with an air of relief floating around him, he made for the room's exit, Liam right behind him.

"Li?" Harry started. "I forgot something. Can you stay for just a second?"

Louis and Liam both stopped in their tracks. "I'll catch my own ride," Louis promised.

Liam raised his eyebrows. "You sure?"

"Positive. See you all Monday." Louis wasted no time in making it out of the room this time.

As Liam moved back toward the bed in which Harry lay, he inquired, "What did you forget?"

Harry gazed up toward Niall--who smiled in encouragement--before turning his attention to Liam. "You might want to sit down for this."

Liam's brow furrowed in confusion, but he dutifully grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the side of the bed before sitting down. "This isn't bad news, is it?"

Harry sighed. "Not all of it." Off the sight of Liam's brows furrowing even deeper, Harry said, "I'm not just here because I'm dehydrated and exhausted."

"You're not?" Liam spoke with careful concern.

With a slight shake of his head, Harry went ahead and dropped the bomb. "I'm pregnant."

Liam's eyes grew comically wide at this pronouncement. "You're pregnant? As in you're having a baby?"

"Two of them, actually," Harry corrected him.

Liam studied Harry's face very seriously, narrowing his eyes just a little bit. "You're not joking."

In response, Harry pushed down the sheet covering him and lifted his hospital gown, exposing his burgeoning baby bump. "Not joking," he added for good measure.

"Holy shit!" Liam reached out a tentative hand toward Harry's stomach. "May I?"

"Sure," Harry allowed.

Liam gently placed his hand over Harry's slightly swollen belly. His face was now pure incredulity. "You're having twins?"

Harry nodded. "In May."

Liam was silent for a moment, obviously processing the news. When he glanced up and realised Niall wasn't having the same surprised reaction as he was, he asked Niall, "You knew?" His tone said he already knew the answer.

"I did," Niall admitted.

"I'm sorry to have kept this from you," Harry apologised. "I've just been trying to work through everything, and it's all been a bit difficult. Gem and my parents don't even know yet."

Liam paused for just a beat. "Are they Louis'?" Again, his tone indicated he knew the answer to this question, too.

"They are," Harry confirmed. "For all that helps me right now."

"I take it you haven't told him," Liam concluded.

"And you aren't going to, either," Harry remarked in a resolved tone.

Harry watched as Liam and Niall locked gazes over him. "I know, I know," Harry said. "I will tell him. I promise. I just want to give his memory a little more time to come back."

Liam's reaction was just the same as Niall's had been the first time they'd had this conversation. He was clearly going to humour Harry, though that was not an indication that he agreed with Harry's thought processes.

"I'm going to tell my family this weekend," Harry went on. "They need to know what's going on, too."

"Is there anyone else who knows?" Liam wanted to know.

"Management," Harry replied. "I had to tell them so it can be handled properly. But they're sworn to secrecy, just like you two."

Liam was opening his mouth to say something else when a nurse bustled into the room to check on her patient. "I'm Fiona," she introduced herself warmly. Looking directly at Harry, she continued, "I'm one of the night nurses this evening, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to press the call button."

Harry nodded. "Thanks."

"Now, I'm a huge fan of your band. Your albums are all wicked," Fiona said next, "but you all need to let Harry here get some rest. Say goodnight, yeah?"

Niall leaned over to wrap Harry in a hug, then Liam stood to do the same.

"Do you want me to be there when you tell your family?" Niall offered.

Harry considered telling Niall he could give this news on his own, but then he thought better of that idea. "That would be great. Come get me in the morning? I'll make sure Gemma's home, and we can go over there to FaceTime Mum and Dad."

"Sounds good," Niall agreed.

"Anything I can do?" Liam asked.

"Be on standby?" Harry requested.

"I can definitely do that," Liam told him.

"Okay, boys, out!" Fiona ordered, opening the door and shooing them out. "He'll see you tomorrow."

Harry listened as Niall and Liam's footsteps echoed down the hallway. They got softer and softer, then disappeared completely. He missed his friends already.

"Try to get some rest," Fiona urged. "We're right down the hall if you need anything."

"Thanks," Harry said, giving her a smile she shared right back.

Once Harry was on his own, he had a moment or two where he thought he might not be able to sleep. His mind was reeling with all that was his life at the moment. Pregnant with twins. Sick as a dog. Boyfriend with amnesia. It was a lot. At least two of his closest friends knew now, and by the end of the next day, his family would know, too. He'd have more support than he would know what to do with. Even without Louis.

This was the thought most prevalent in his mind as he closed his eyes and drifted off. If he had to be pregnant with twins courtesy of his amnesiac boyfriend and sick every minute of the day, at least he had the best family and friends a guy could ask for. Even if he didn't want to think about how, he guessed it could be worse.

_LOUIS_

Rehearsals were weird. And, also, exhausting. Louis felt like he was juggling too many things all at once. First, he was working so hard to try to get the hang of twenty-five songs he'd never sung before (that he could remember). He was surprised to find he had a good voice. He remembered being in _Grease_ in school, but his voice hadn't sounded quite this strong back then. The lyrics were not too complicated, but twenty-five was a lot of songs to learn in a short time.

Second, he was trying to get a feel for his three bandmates. This was even more tiring than learning two dozen songs. Liam was kind and patient, willing to go over the words with Louis over and over if that was necessary. It was evident that Liam and Louis had been close before Louis' accident. Niall was happy-go-lucky and completely positive about this whole process. There was no doubt in Niall's mind, it seemed, that they could pull the rescheduled dates off.

Then there was Harry. It was even more awkward around Harry than Louis had envisioned it would be. He'd known it would be difficult for them to be around each other after Louis had left their shared house to go back to his mother's, but Harry could barely look at Louis, so Louis gave Harry a wide berth.

Making things exponentially harder was that Harry was clearly pretty sick, and when the others stepped in to make sure Harry was able to sing, it was clear that this used to have been Louis' job. Whoever noticed Harry flagging would shoot Louis a quick glance to see if he would approach Harry, and when Louis didn't--feeling like that wasn't his place--they took over, getting him tea or forcing him to take a break.

They'd been rehearsing for two and a half weeks when, in the middle of _Fireproof_ \--a song Louis had grown to really love performing--Harry collapsed without so much as a shaky warning.

Liam and Niall jumped into action instantly, Liam going to Harry's side and Niall yanking out his mobile to dial 9-9-9. Louis didn't know what to do so just stood rooted to his spot on the makeshift stage, watching with increasing horror as Liam tried to get Harry to come to.

By the time the paramedics got there, Harry was conscious, though he was most definitely still pretty unwell. From his spot a safe distance away, Louis couldn't quite hear the whispers which transpired between the medics and Niall, but it wasn't long at all before Harry was lifted onto a gurney. His condition apparently warranted a trip to hospital--his second in the space of two weeks.

Just as had been the case before, Niall went in the ambulance with Harry to fill them in on what was going on, and Liam and Louis followed in Liam's car.

When they arrived at the same hospital they'd been to not two weeks prior, Liam and Louis were shown to a private waiting room where they sat counting the minutes until Niall or a doctor appeared to fill them in on how Harry was doing.

Liam pulled out his mobile to pass the time, so Louis did the same, mostly playing a fun little football game he'd downloaded, but he checked his text messages and his e-mail, too. He found, however, that he was distracted from those mundane activities by his growing concern for Harry. As a friend, of course. It didn't matter how many people insisted he and Harry had been involved, he felt friendship, though even that was a little tenuous after he'd moved out of their house. He hoped time might make that better.

They'd been sat there for almost an hour when Niall finally arrived. He looked a little worse for wear, but his face didn't indicate that anything too horrific was going on.

Liam stood up straight away. "How is he?"

"It's the same as last time," Niall replied. "He's dehydrated and exhausted. They want to keep him overnight again."

Liam sighed. He looked toward Louis, then back to Niall, then repeated the action. Louis wondered if he was trying to decide whether or not to say whatever it was he wanted to say in front of Louis. Finally, cryptically, he asked of Niall, "Is everything else okay?"

Niall nodded. "The doctor checked, and everything's fine."

Liam's sigh was one of relief this time.

"They're moving him up to a private room," Niall went on. "Why don't you go meet him up there, Li? I've already rung Gemma. She should be here soon."

"Fourth floor?" Liam checked. That was the floor Harry had been on before.

"Yep."

Liam gave Louis a significant look that Louis couldn't begin to decipher, then sped from the room, leaving Louis alone with Niall.

"Louis, we need to talk," Niall announced in a serious tone.

"Okay," Louis responded carefully.

Niall gestured to the bank of chairs. "Let's sit."

Louis backed up to sit down once again, and Niall took a seat two down from him, turning his body so he could face Louis directly.

Pulling in a deep breath first, Niall said with great gravity, "I have really enjoyed being your bandmate for the last five years, even if you can't remember them."

Louis was puzzled. "What?"

Niall explained, "Harry is going to kill me when I tell you what I'm about to tell you. I promised I wouldn't, but I have to. You need to know what's going on."

Louis' first thought was that Harry had cancer or some other dread disease, and they hadn't wanted to compound upon Louis' amnesia by telling him Harry was really sick. If this was the case, Louis began to feel absolutely horrible about the lengths he'd gone to to give both himself and Harry some space.

"Is it not just dehydration and exhaustion?" Louis inquired.

"It's not," Niall confirmed.

Louis covered his mouth and exhaled slowly before asking, "What is it? Cancer?"

Niall gasped in reaction to Louis' deduction, then shook his head vehemently. "No! No!"

Louis sighed with relief. "So, what is it?"

Niall hauled in another deep breath before confessing, "Harry's pregnant."

Louis could not have been more surprised if Niall had announced that Harry was turning into a purple polka-dotted elephant. "Pregnant?"

"Pregnant," Niall confirmed. "He's due in May. He's got what's called hyperemesis gravidarum, which is extreme nausea in reaction to the pregnancy. Kate Middleton had it when she was pregnant with George."

"Kate who?"

"Shit! You don't remember that either, do you?" Niall sighed in frustration.

"So, who's the other father?" Louis wondered aloud.

Niall squeezed his eyes shut for just a moment before answering, simply, "You."

"Me?" Louis voice came out horribly squeaky. He shook his head wildly. "No. That can't be true. Harry and I were never…together. It has to be someone else's."

Niall regarded Louis with sympathy, smiling softly. "The babies are yours, Louis. There is no one else. Never has been."

"Babies?" Louis latched on to the most terrifying part of Niall's declaration. "There's more than one?"

Niall nodded. "Harry's expecting twins."

Louis could not handle this anymore. "I'm really sorry he's ill, and I wish him the very best, but they're not mine. They can't be." He shot out of his seat. "I have to go." He made for the door without bothering to wait for Niall to protest.

Sure enough, he could hear Niall behind him. "Wait, Louis! Please wait!"

Louis couldn't. He couldn't wait. Not without risking exploding into a thousand pieces. He moved down the hall, found the stairwell and practically ran down all four floors. When he arrived at the hospital's entry, he raised his hand to call a taxi. When he was safely in the back of one, he gave his mother's address.

He needed to be at home. He needed his mother. He needed to forget what he'd heard. After all, he'd forgotten everything else. He could forget this, too.

* * *

Liam texted Louis in the evening that Harry was fine, but that rehearsals were cancelled until further notice. Louis texted back a simple OK. Then he proceeded to spend virtually the entire night lying in bed trying to will his memory back. Nothing was worse than all this confusion.

He felt as exhausted as Harry had looked the previous day when he padded downstairs for tea to find his mum and Hannah chatting at the kitchen table.

"Good morning, Boo," his mum greeted him.

"Morning," he returned wearily.

Hannah rose to place a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Good morning, sunshine. I hope it's okay I'm here. Your mum told me you had the day off, so I called in sick to work. I figured we could spend the day together."

Louis sighed. He had imagined to do nothing more exerting than lifting the remote toward the telly from his spot on the sofa. He opened his mouth to decline her offer, then he caught the hopeful look on her face and nodded instead. "Sounds good," he lied.

She grinned at his response. "Sit down. I'll get you some tea."

Louis sat opposite his mum and sipped at the tea Hannah passed to him. He listened as the women discussed some television programme he'd never heard of, something called _Scandal_.

When he'd drained his cup, he retreated upstairs to shower and dress. When he trudged back downstairs, he felt as awake as he thought he was going to get. "So, what did you have in mind for today?" he asked Hannah.

"It's cold out, but beautiful. I was thinking we could drive out into the country a little, find someplace out of the way for lunch. Maybe we could find some antique shops to poke through."

Though that was not even remotely his idea of a fun day, he agreed. "Sure."

They bundled up in winter jackets, then climbed into Hannah's small car.

As she piloted the car north, Hannah tried to draw Louis into conversation, but his monosyllabic contributions meant that Hannah was more or less giving a monologue. She covered the topics of politics, movies, feminism, and fashion before she spotted a little café she thought looked adorable.

The waitress who greeted them showed them to a small table in the corner, and they ordered sandwiches and tea.

When the waitress left to go put in their order, Hannah appraised Louis, obviously trying to suss out his melancholy mood. "What's wrong, Lou?"

Louis knew he shouldn't tell her. Not that it wasn't his secret to tell, but he was reasonably sure Harry was trying to keep his condition on the down low. But was Louis really meant to deal with his conflicting emotions all on his own? Surely he could tell Hannah.

Throwing caution to the wind as it were, he opened with, "You can't tell anyone. Not my mum, not yours, not your friends."

"Sounds serious."

"I'm serious, Hannah," Louis insisted. "You can't tell."

She held up her hand. "I promise."

"Harry's pregnant."

Hannah's reaction was no less stunned than his own had been. "He's pregnant?"

Louis nodded. "That's why he's been so sick. That's why rehearsals are off for the moment."

Hannah puffed out a breath. "Wow."

"Yeah," Louis concurred with her assessment.

"Whose baby is it?" Hannah wanted to know.

"Babies," Louis corrected. "He's having twins."

Hannah blinked in a way that would have been comical had this not been a not-exceptionally-funny situation. "Wow," she said again.

"As for the other part…. Niall said the babies are mine."

Hannah coughed at this point, choking on nothing but air. Louis stood to pat her back. He caught the eye of their waitress and called for a glass of water.

As Hannah sipped at the water, Louis reclaimed his seat and asked, "You okay?"

She took another couple sips before saying, "They can't be your babies. You and Harry were never sleeping together."

"That's what I told Niall," Louis reported. "But he insisted there's no one else."

"There has to be," Hannah insisted. "You're with me."

"What if I slept with him, though, Hannah? What if I cheated on you?" Louis worked hard to calm his voice, aware they were in public, but distraught all the same. "What if I felt sorry for him having this crush, and I slept with him and got him pregnant?"

Hannah reached a hand across to his, gripping it tightly. "I don't think that's possible, Louis. I'm sure he just wishes it was you."

"I just don't know what to think," Louis lamented.

"You don't need to think anything. It's his problem, not yours," Hannah told him soberly. "He's got plenty of support. He has his parents, his sister, Liam, and Niall. They'll take care of him. It's up to him to get the real other father involved."

Louis didn't know what to think. Niall had sounded so earnest when he'd given Louis the news, but Hannah's view made sense, too, even if he still thought leading Harry on was a cruel thing to do.

Hannah rose and walked around the small table to give Louis a hug. "It's all going to work out," she vowed as she released him and moved back to her chair. "Harry's going to come clean about who really got him pregnant, and Niall will have to apologise for accusing you."

Louis sincerely hoped that was how things would work out, but a feeling in the pit of his stomach said otherwise.

"You need to put this all out of your mind and deal with your recovery. You're still healing from the accident," Hannah reminded him. "Look, here comes the waitress with our sandwiches."

After the waitress presented them with their tea and sandwiches, leaving them to enjoy their meal, Hannah went on, "Let's focus on us this afternoon. The sandwiches look delicious, and I know we can find some lovely antiques this afternoon. What do you say?"

Louis wanted nothing more than to put Harry's pregnancy out of his mind, so he forced himself to do as Hannah had suggested. He pulled happy memories of Hannah and himself at school to the forefront of his mind and picked up one half of his sandwich. "So," he began before taking his first bite, "whatever happened to your friend Lucy? Did she ever become an actress?"

"Oh my God, Louis, you are never going to believe what happened to her."

_HARRY_

"I strongly suggest you not try to go on any kind of tour at this point," Dr. Walsh told him.

It was the morning after he'd collapsed at rehearsal. The doctor who had treated him on his previous visit had happened to be on call again, and she was overseeing his care once more.

"I'm under a contract, though," Harry protested. "It's going to be difficult to get out of."

"Harry…," Gemma warned. She had come to hospital the day before--at Niall's behest--and she had arrived again first thing in the morning. "You need to do what the doctor says."

"It's a lot of unnecessary stress," Dr. Walsh argued. "You're four months pregnant, and the hyperemesis isn't getting any better. For the sake of both you and your babies, you need to slow things down a lot."

Harry sighed. He knew this was not an argument he was going to win. Especially not now Gemma was involved.

Nevertheless, he opened his mouth to offer one more debate. He was interrupted, however, by Niall and Liam knocking on the door and peeking in. "Can we come in?" Niall asked.

Harry waved them inside. "The more the merrier, I guess."

Liam and Niall presented a coffee for Gemma and a tea for Harry. "Hospital tea is the worst," Liam remarked.

"Harry?" Dr. Walsh got his attention back. "I really want you to think about what I said."

"I will," he vowed.

"I'll be back in about an hour to check on you and do an ultrasound. If everything checks out, I'll release you," the doctor said.

"Thanks."

As the doctor exited the room, Liam inquired, "What are you supposed to think about? Are the babies okay?"

"Yes," Harry assured him. "But Dr. Walsh doesn't think it's a good idea for me to go on tour."

Liam grimaced. "Yikes."

"What are you going to do?" Niall wondered aloud.

Harry shrugged.

Gemma butted in at this point. "He's going to do what the doctor told him to do."

"Management is going to be so pissed if I demand to bow out," Harry pointed out.

"They'll have to deal, then," Gemma countered. She had been in full support mode ever since finding out Harry was pregnant, and Harry was not even remotely surprised that she would take the side that favoured Harry's health and not his job.

"We'll back you one hundred percent," Niall swore.

"Absolutely," Liam added, reaching out to pat Harry's shoulder. "You need to do what's best for you and the babies. If that means no tour, it means no tour."

"Are you sure?" Harry checked nervously.

"We can visit all over the UK next summer to make it up to them," Niall suggested.

Harry smiled. "You guys are the best."

For the next hour or so, the foursome chatted about nothing in particular until a nurse came into the room pushing a portable ultrasound machine, followed directly by Dr. Walsh.

"Should we go?" Liam started to push himself out of the chair he'd settled into.

Harry shook his head. "Only if you want to. You're going to be the babies' uncles and aunt. Would you like to see them?"

Niall added, "It's pretty awesome."

"We can also hear the babies' heartbeats," Dr. Walsh interjected from where she sat getting her machine ready. "And not only that, but now you're sixteen weeks along, we should be able to tell the babies' genders. If you want to know, that is."

"I'm in," Liam decided enthusiastically, sitting back down, but shifting his chair into a spot where he would have a good view of the monitor.

Gemma and Niall huddled on either side of Harry.

As the doctor urged Harry to lift his hospital gown so she could squeeze some gel onto his belly, Gemma asked, "Do you want to know the genders, H?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. What do you think?" He glanced over at his sister.

"I think it's up to you," Gemma said, frustratingly neutral. "Finding out means you can plan, but surprises are fun."

Harry was completely torn about what to do, and it must have shown on his face. While the doctor moved the ultrasound wand around trying to get the best view of the babies, Niall reached a hand out to clasp Harry's shoulder. "I know you wish that Louis was here, too, but you're not betraying him if you want to find out what you're expecting."

Harry turned a grateful smile in Niall's direction. "Thanks."

"Let's check out the heartbeats first," Dr. Walsh suggested. She typed into her computer and fiddled with a dial. In no time at all, the sound of twin heartbeats filled the room.

"Wow," Niall whispered. "That's amazing!"

Tears filled Harry's eyes as Gemma reached for his hand, squeezing tight. Louis should have been there. They should have been doing this together, listening to their children's heartbeats. He squeezed Gemma's hand back, gazing up at her with a tiny smile. At least he had his sister there, not to mention his two best friends. He told himself it could be worse. He could be doing this alone.

"They sound really fast," Liam noted. He questioned the doctor, "Is that normal?"

Dr. Walsh nodded. "Definitely. They sound great. Very healthy."

Harry was incredibly relieved that his constant illness seemed to be having zero impact on the babies. Hearing that their heartbeats were healthy and strong made them even more magical.

"So, Harry, what's the verdict?" the doctor inquired. "I can definitely tell the babies' genders. Do you want to know or do you want to wait?"

After a lengthy pause--during which neither his sister nor his friends said a thing--Harry said, "I want to know. Might as well have a plan, particularly if I end up doing this alone."

"You are _not_ going to be doing this alone, no matter what," Gemma stressed in a fierce tone. "Mum, Dad, Robin, and I are so excited to help, and I'm pretty sure these guys are, too." She looked pointedly at first Liam, then Niall.

"Absolutely!" Niall agreed enthusiastically. "I'll even change nappies."

Harry chuckled.

"I'm not sure about the nappies," Liam remarked. "But I'm pretty sure I can handle a bottle or two."

The tears which threatened Harry this time were happy ones. "Thanks, guys."

"So," Dr. Walsh confirmed, "that's a 'yes' on the genders?"

"Yes." Harry held his breath, then, to await the news.

"Baby A," she pointed to one of the baby-shaped spots on the monitor, "is a boy. And Baby B," she pointed to the second baby-shaped spot, "is a girl."

"One of each!" Niall cried.

"Congrats, H," Gemma said with a grin. "Getting it all out of the way with one pregnancy."

Harry grinned back at his sister, already imagining himself with a tiny little boy in one arm and a tiny little girl in the other.

"Congrats, mate," Liam threw in. "I'm sure they'll both be gorgeous."

"Everything looks super, Harry." Dr. Walsh re-entered the conversation. "They're both a little small, but that's normal for twins. Otherwise they're right on track. I'll assume you'd like some pictures?"

"Please."

She moved the wand around a little more, then pressed some keys to produce some photos. As she passed them over to Harry along with a cloth with which to clean his belly, she asked, "Did you think about what I said earlier?"

Harry puffed out a breath. "Yes. I'm going to tell my management I'm out."

Gemma sighed with relief.

" _We're_ going to tell them," Liam amended. "I'll call for a meeting in a couple days, after you've had a little more time to recover."

"Thanks, Liam," Harry said, again overwhelmed by how lucky he was to have such amazing friends.

"That's a wise decision," the doctor praised. "I think you'll be much better off just taking it easy, enjoying the holidays and getting ready to take care of twins come spring."

Harry nodded.

"Now, I'm going to have a nurse come in and do one last round of vitals, then if those check out, I'll sign your release papers," Dr. Walsh announced.

"Thanks."

She placed a warm hand on his thigh, "Take it easy, Harry. Lots of water, lots of rest, no heavy lifting."

Harry raised a hand in a mock salute. "Got it."

"And at the first sign you think it's more than just mild nausea, go ahead and come back in," the doctor added.

"I will," he promised.

"Take care," Dr. Walsh wished not just Harry, but the whole room.

Once the doctor was gone, Liam pulled out his mobile. "I'm going to call Management." After getting acknowledging nods from the others, he moved out into the hallway.

Gemma, too, withdrew her phone from the pocket of her jeans. "Shall we FaceTime Mum and let her know you're okay and that I'm going to have a niece and a nephew?"

Harry smirked. "Sounds good."

While Gemma got to dialling, Niall also got out his phone. "I'm going to start looking up names."

"Names?" Harry questioned.

"It's never too early to start thinking about what to call them, yeah? It's important!"

Harry was still smiling at Niall's declaration when Anne answered Gemma's call. "Hello, my lovely daughter and my wonderful son! How are you feeling, Harry?"

"Much better," he reported. "They're releasing me from hospital this morning."

"And he has news!" Gemma announced happily.

Anne's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"Come May, you will have both a grandson and a granddaughter," Harry revealed.

"You found out the genders?"

Harry and Gemma both nodded. "Just a little while ago."

"I could not be more excited!" Anne proclaimed. "A prince and a princess."

Harry was thrilled his mother was on board with all of this, especially the part where she was a grandmother before she was fifty, but he couldn't keep from becoming melancholy at her choice of words. They were just the words Louis would have thought to call the babies.

While Anne and Gemma began making plans on just how they were going to dress Harry's twins, Harry made a wish that Louis' memory would return soon so they could all go through this…together.

* * *

As every single person involved could have predicted, no one at Modest was happy that Harry was bowing out of the tour. They were even less pleased that Liam and Niall refused to continue to work with Louis to prep a tour which would be just the three of them. Liam and Niall said they wouldn't do any shows without Harry, and that was one hundred percent non-negotiable. Modest stopped pushing back the instant Liam stated that they would pay out whatever they had to to cover losses, but they were not stepping one foot on any stage until Harry had delivered a pair of healthy babies and had gotten to spend no less than two months with them.

Thankfully, the new album was selling well, so everyone agreed they would spend the time they would have been spending on the tour pushing the album, trying to get in as many sales as they could during the holiday season. Liam and Niall happily agreed to take on the extra promo in return for the postponement of the tour dates.

Thus placated, Richard and Magee were on the phone before Liam, Niall, and Harry left the conference room to get someone on their staff to begin scheduling tour dates for mid-July of the following year as well as extra promo interviews for Liam and Niall to do during the rest of November and December.

Harry was exactly at the halfway point of his pregnancy on the day all hell broke loose. There was really no hiding his belly at this point. He was pretty skinny to begin with, but wearing oversized tops had helped to just make it look like he'd put on a little weight. By the time he, Liam, and Niall had gone to talk to Modest, however, it didn't matter what he was wearing. Anyone who looked close enough would have figured out he was with children.

Someone looked close enough.

Harry woke up the day after the latest meeting with Modest to his phone ringing insistently. When he missed picking it up because he was still trying to wake up, no more than a couple seconds passed before it was ringing again. Groggily, he picked up the screaming phone and squinted at the screen. It was Liam.

"Liam. It's--" he pulled the mobile away from his ear to stare at the clock, "--eight a.m."

"You need to look at Twitter," Liam told him sombrely. "I'll ring back in five."

Harry groaned and pulled himself up so he could lean his back against his pillows. When he was settled, he rubbed a hand over his belly. "Good morning, my little loves. What do you suppose is wrong with Uncle Liam?"

It didn't take Harry ten seconds in his Twitter app to figure out what was wrong with Liam. He'd been found out and outed. The whole world knew he was pregnant. And gay. Gay and pregnant.

As far as he could tell from his scrolling, a pap had gotten lucky and caught a few photos of Harry going into Modest's offices. The angle of the photos made it abundantly clear that Harry was pregnant. It was not a far leap from that for the Twitter community to figure out that Harry was gay.

Harry sighed. He'd known this was coming, and that he would have to reveal who he really was to the public. He had just hoped he'd be able to control the story. So much for that.

Liam rang again exactly five minutes after they'd spoken last. "Did you see?" he asked.

"Yes." Harry sighed. "So that's that, I guess. Everyone knows."

"I already spoke to Magee," Liam said. "They want to write a statement for the press."

"It can't be in print, Li," Harry countered. "I have to do it on camera or they'll never believe it." _They_ were the fans, and they'd been lied to way too many times to accept anything as truth unless it came directly out of their mouths. And even then, they were sceptical.

Harry could hear Liam puff a breath into the phone. "You're right."

"I know." It wasn't a vain pronouncement, just the truth.

"Shall I call them?" Harry wondered aloud.

"I'll take care of it," Liam answered. "You just get yourself up and dressed, have a cup of that nasty herbal tea. I'll ring you when there's a plan."

"Thanks, Li. You're the best." Harry ended the phone call and tossed the phone onto his night table. He caressed the swell of his stomach once more. "I guess the cat's out of the bag, little ones. Time to face the music."

He took his time with his shower, then dressed in clothes that did nothing to hide his baby bump. No point in that anymore. He drank the herbal tea Liam had so rudely disparaged--if Harry was honest, it wasn't the greatest tasting tea, but pregnant beggars could not be choosers--and ate some dry toast and a banana, praying all the while the food would stay down.

He had made it to the sofa and was aimlessly surfing through channels on the telly when Liam showed up, Niall in tow. They all sat around the lounge for Liam to fill Harry in on the plan.

"We're all going over to the studio at the BBC, and you'll make your statement there, Niall and me right behind you," Liam told Harry. "No big interview, no press conference, no questions. They'll broadcast the statement on the midday news, the evening news, and their breakfast show."

"Then everyone will know," Harry concluded.

"Well, to be fair, thanks to the internet, most everyone already knows," Niall pointed out. "But yeah, everyone will know. It will broadcast here in time to make all the US news and entertainment broadcasts for the day, too."

Harry sighed. "Are they writing a statement for me?"

"They will if you want them to," Liam reported, "but I negotiated that if you wanted to say it your own way, you could."

Harry's heart swelled with love for Liam. No matter what happened ever, Liam always had his back--had since the very start.

"Do you want them to write it?" Liam inquired.

Harry shook his head. "No. I'll do it."

"That's what I thought you'd say," Liam remarked with a grin.

"Do you want to write anything down?" Niall joined the conversation.

"No, that's okay," Harry declined. "I mean, there's not much to it. I'm gay, I'm pregnant. What else is there?"

Niall and Liam were silent a moment before Niall carefully asked, "Are you going to mention Louis?"

That was a million-pound question. "I don't know," Harry replied. "What do you think I should do?"

"I think you should do whatever your heart tells you to." Niall offered him an apologetic smile for giving such a canned answer. "Everyone is going to want to know whose babies they are, but you don't have to tell them unless you want to."

"Just remember," Liam interjected, "whatever you don't say will be fair game for the press to make up."

No one knew that better than Harry. He nodded his acknowledgment of the simple truth. "What time do we need to be there?"

"No later than eleven," Liam said.

Harry toggled to the lock screen on his phone. It was almost ten. "Guess we'd better get going, then. Get it done." He stood, smoothing his shirt over his belly. Liam and Niall stood to follow him.

Less than an hour later, Harry was stood in front of a microphone at the BBC Studios, Liam and Niall posed supportively behind him.

They were accompanied by just three people: a producer, a director, and a cameraman--Leif, Jessica, and Mike, respectively. Harry had totally missed their second names, if they'd recited them.

"Okay, Harry," Jessica said brightly. "I think Mike is just about ready. Right, Mike?" She turned to the man standing behind the large TV camera.

Mike nodded. "Ready to go."

"You can do this as many times as you need to," Leif assured Harry. "Don't worry about it if you need to start over."

Although Harry nodded, he really didn't intend to say this more than once.

Liam placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed. "We're right here, mate."

Harry swivelled his head to smile in Liam's direction. "Thanks."

He turned back toward the camera and pulled in a deep breath.

"Hi," he began, his voice coming out a little squeaky. He cleared his throat and started over. "Hi. I'm Harry Styles from One Direction." He paused to clear his throat one more time. "I'm here to speak to the many rumours floating around since pictures of me leaving a meeting yesterday were released."

Harry looked down and shuffled his feet for a second before steeling himself and looking right back into the camera. "It's true. I'm pregnant. I'm expecting twins next May. And as many of you have speculated over the years, I'm gay. I've been in the same relationship since I was sixteen. Again, as many of you have speculated, this relationship is with my bandmate, Louis Tomlinson." Silently, he apologised to Louis for outing him, but this felt like the right thing to do. He was not going to intimate that the twins were conceived out of anything less than real love. "Louis and I weren't expecting to have children quite this young, but…." He rested a hand on his swollen stomach. "Here we are."

He paused for another deep breath. "It's been a difficult pregnancy so far, and this is the reason our tour has been put off until next summer. I hope our fans understand and can support us in this decision.

"We're so excited you're all enjoying our new album, _Made in the A.M._ , and hope this can hold you over until we can see you next summer." He smiled softly into the camera. It was almost over. "Thanks, as always, to all of you for your support. It means the world to us." He stopped talking.

Silence fell for a long moment, then Jessica yelled, "Cut!" She moved to Harry's side. "That it?"

Harry ignored her question in favour of turning back to Liam and Niall. "How was it?"

They both nodded and smiled. "Really good," Niall praised.

"Liam?" Harry requested his opinion.

"Really, really good," Liam said sincerely.

Harry faced Jessica again. "That's it," he told her.

She nodded smartly. "All right, then. Leif and I are going to replay it back in the booth right now just to check it's okay before we let you go."

"Sounds good," Liam said on behalf of the three of them.

"Do you want to come watch?" Jessica invited, gesturing back toward the booth Leif was already walking toward.

Liam and Niall looked to Harry. They would take their cues from him. Harry shook his head.

Liam once again spoke for all of them. "We're good."

While the team from the BBC went to watch over the video, Harry questioned his bandmates once again. "You're sure it was okay?"

"It was great," Niall insisted.

"Do you think Louis' going to be angry?" Harry asked worriedly, starting to second guess his decision to name Louis as the babies' father, especially since the decision had been a selfish one. Assuming Louis saw his statement, it would keep Harry from having to be the one to tell Louis what was going on. That was not really a conversation Harry wanted to have.

Liam shrugged. "Doesn't matter. This is about you and those babies, not about him, not when he's not stepping up."

Harry relaxed a little. "Thanks."

"It's just as well you went ahead and did this," Niall noted. He pointed to Harry's tummy. "Look at them. Can I?" He floated his hand about an inch from Harry's bump.

"Go ahead," Harry allowed.

Niall pressed his hand down on Harry's belly. "Can you feel them kicking yet?"

"I'm not sure. I've definitely felt some fluttering down there, but it's hard to tell whether it's them kicking or if it's just all the nausea," Harry admitted. "The pregnancy books all say I should be able to feel them any day now, though."

"How is the nausea?" Liam wondered aloud.

"Not too bad today," Harry said with a shrug. "Good thing, too, since I had to do this."

"Yeah," Liam agreed.

Jessica and Leif reappeared at this point, smiles on both their faces. Niall removed his hand from Harry's belly, and they all focused their attention on the director. Jessica announced, "The video looks great. I think we can air it as is at noon."

Harry heaved a sigh of relief at not having to repeat his statement.

"You're all free to go," Jessica went on. "Thanks so much, guys."

They all shook her hand and Leif's hand before leaving the studio and heading back to Niall's car.

As they all buckled their seat belts, Liam posed a question. "So what now?"

Harry leaned back in his seat, rested his hands on his belly, and closed his eyes. "Now?" he intoned softly. "Now we wait."

_LOUIS_

He happened upon the statement completely by accident.

Apart from the occasional football game on the football channel, Louis had mostly avoided the television since coming home to his mother's house. He really wanted to spend his time with his family and with Hannah, hoping that would do the trick in recovering his memories.

One night in mid-December, however, he found he couldn't sleep. He padded downstairs to the lounge and turned the TV on low. A news programme was on, and he almost changed the channel, but then decided the news might actually lull him to sleep, so he left the tuner where it was. He huddled under a fuzzy blanket on the sofa and closed his eyes, letting the newscaster's smooth, calm voice wash over him.

He was almost asleep when he heard a familiar voice. _"Hi…. Hi. I'm Harry Styles."_

Louis sat up so quickly it gave him a head rush, but he tamped it down quickly to focus on the television screen where a clearly pregnant Harry was announcing said pregnancy to the world. Louis couldn't help but feel admiration for the twenty-one-year-old. It was unbelievably brave to go on television and make this kind of statement.

Admiration turned to sheer horror, though, as Harry's speech went on. _"Louis and I weren't expecting to have children quite this young…"_

What on earth was Harry doing?

Louis didn't hear much of the end of Harry's statement. He was too busy fighting a losing battle against a seething rage he didn't quite understand.

How dare Harry drag Louis into his mess? Hannah had promised him that he and Harry weren't actually a thing. Louis surely felt bad for Harry and his situation, but the babies had to be someone else's, not Louis'. It wasn't remotely fair for Harry to drag Louis into this. Didn't Louis have enough to deal with?

There was no sleeping the rest of the night, and he spent the next day stomping around the house angry. He refused to talk to anyone about what he'd heard. He really wanted to work this out for himself. Besides, he knew his mum, his sisters, and Hannah would all take his part and be angry at Harry on his behalf. That wasn't going to do anybody any good.

When he stepped out of his house just over twenty-four hours after hearing Harry's speech with the intention of taking a brisk walk around the neighbourhood, he was faced with a passel of reporters and paparazzi. They all shouted questions about his own health, about Harry and about the twin babies. _Are Harry's babies yours? What's going on with you and Harry? Why weren't you with him to make the statement? Are you still recovering from your accident?_ How had they even known where to find Louis?

It was all too much. He told them all "No comment" before rushing back into the house. Once there, he recruited Lottie to drive him to Harry's. Louis wasn't allowed to drive yet because of his head injury and the amnesia, but he had to go address all of this with Harry. He needed everyone off his case; he had more than enough to deal with in his lost memories.

He had to do some begging--and some forking over of cash--but Lottie finally agreed to drive him. They bundled up in winter coats, pulled the hoods over their heads, and raced to Lottie's beat-up Audi.

The drive to Harry's place was mostly silent. Though Lottie tried to press Louis into telling her what this was all about, he refused. Instead, he wanted to think through all the things he wanted to say to Harry. He knew he was going to have to be calm, but firm; he didn't have time to fill Lottie in on the celebrity gossip she had somehow managed to miss.

By the time Lottie pulled through Harry's gate (Louis still had the security code; Harry had not changed it), Louis had a vague idea of what he wanted to get across to Harry.

He told Lottie to find somewhere nearby to hang out until he texted her to come and pick him up. She told him she'd find a Starbucks and to take his time.

Louis stood on the stoop for a full two minutes, steeling himself for the conversation ahead of him. When he knew he had to just get on with it, he rang the bell.

It took Harry a minute to get to the door, and he looked positively stunned when he found Louis on his doorstep. "Louis! Hi," he greeted him carefully. He looked pale, as if he was still sick, and his baby bump was very apparent under the simple white t-shirt he wore over joggers.

"Can I come in?" Louis asked.

"Sure," Harry said carefully, stepping back to allow Louis entrance. Once Louis was inside, Harry closed the door behind him before inquiring, "Can I take your coat?"

Louis nodded and shrugged out of his jacket. Harry took it from him and settled it on a hook on the coat rack in the corner. He then turned back to Louis. "Shall we go into the lounge?"

"That's fine," Louis agreed, waiting for Harry to lead the way.

"Would you like some tea?" Harry wanted to know before moving out of the entry way.

And have some more time to collect his thoughts? "That would be nice."

"Go ahead and go into the lounge," Harry suggested. "I'll be there in a few."

Louis headed toward the lounge, while Harry peeled off toward the kitchen. Louis took a seat on the comfy couch in the lounge, focusing in on the television. Harry had been watching a cheesy Nicholas Sparks-type movie.

As he waited for Harry to arrive, he went over everything he wanted to say in his head. He didn't want to forget anything.

It wasn't long before Harry entered the lounge carrying a tray with a kettle, two cups, milk, sugar, and spoons on it. He set it on the coffee table, instantly taking the cup that was already full. "Mine's herbal," he explained to Louis. "Help yourself. It's Yorkshire."

Louis made quick work of fixing himself a cup of tea--no milk, no sugar. He took two careful sips before setting the cup down and fixing his gaze on Harry. "You must be wondering why I'm here."

"It is a bit of a surprise to see you," Harry admitted. "How are you doing?"

"The same," Louis reported. "Memory's still gone."

Harry frowned at the update. "Sorry."

Louis shrugged, not sure Harry needed to hear how much easier it was dealing with his amnesia at his mother's than it had been staying at this house with Harry.

"So, why are you here?" Harry wanted to know, his tone cautious. He put a hand to his belly. "Is it about this?"

"Actually, it is," Louis admitted, adding, "I saw your statement."

As Louis watched, Harry's pale cheeks filled with colour. "I'm so sorry you found out that way, Louis."

"I already knew you were pregnant. Niall took care of that," Louis revealed.

Harry's features clouded with confusion. "You knew?"

"Yes. But that's not why I came over. I came over because I need you to stop," Louis told him as firmly as he could manage.

Harry still appeared completely puzzled. "Stop what?"

Louis hauled in a deep breath, then got down to the reason he was there. "Stop telling people they're my babies."

Harry gasped. "But they are," he insisted.

Louis shook his head. "They're not. They can't be. You and I weren't sleeping together."

"Yes, we were," Harry countered, his tone showing a little more heat.

"No," Louis argued back. "We can't have been. We were living together, I'll grant you that, but I was only humouring your crush on me. We weren't sleeping together. I don't know who you were with, but that's who those babies belong to."

Tears were glistening in the corners of Harry's eyes, and his hands flew to his burgeoning belly. "These babies belong to you, Louis. There's never been anyone else. Not since the moment we met."

Louis couldn't listen to anymore. He stood from the couch and looked down at Harry. Tears were now streaming down Harry's face, but Louis couldn't let that sway his resolve. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry you're in this position, Harry. Really, I am. But you need to figure out who it was who helped make those babies. It can't be me."

"It is, Louis," Harry persisted through sobs that grew stronger with each word he spoke. "I promise. I swear. I've never, ever slept with anyone else."

Louis shook his head. "Sorry. I can't believe that. I'm with Hannah. I've always been with Hannah."

Harry drew in several deep breaths, clearly trying to compose himself enough to speak. Finally, in a soft voice, he asked, "Is that what she told you?"

"Yes. And I have no reason to believe she's not telling me the truth," Louis proclaimed. "I've known her since we were little, and I don't know you. Who am I supposed to believe?"

Harry's sobs returned, and this time he covered his mouth as he cried. His eyes grew wide with horror all at once, and he flew off the couch, past Louis, and toward the loo.

Louis followed him, getting to the door of the bathroom in just enough time to see Harry throwing up into the toilet.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," he said softly. He truly hadn't meant to make Harry sick.

"Go!" Harry rasped, still clutching the toilet bowl. "Get out!"

"But you're sick," Louis protested weakly.

Harry dry heaved once, then turned bleary eyes on Louis. "You just finished telling me that you don't want anything to do with our babies. You don't need to be here, then. Go!"

"Harry…." Louis didn't even know what he wanted to say, but deep in his heart, he knew there was something he should say.

"Go!" Harry screamed, crying yet again. "Please, Louis. Just go!"

"I'm…sorry," Louis mumbled.

Harry ignored his apology, rising up on his knees, instead, to heave into the toilet yet again.

Soberly, Louis moved away from the bathroom and headed back to the front door, texting Lottie as he went. By the time he'd retrieved his coat and slipped it on, she had texted back saying she was on the way.

Louis walked down to the end of the driveway to wait for Lottie, tugging his coat tightly around him against the bitter December cold.

He couldn't get Harry's sad eyes and plaintive voice out of his head. He hated to be the reason for them, but he didn't have a choice. Did he?

The question rang through his head for the rest of the day.

* * *

Two days later, Louis had a surprise visitor. From the moment Louis opened the door, it was clear Liam hadn't come for a friendly catch-up session.

"What the hell, Louis?" Liam asked in lieu of a more typical greeting.

"I'm sorry?" Louis returned question for question, genuinely perplexed by Liam's open hostility.

"Did you really accuse Harry of sleeping with someone else?" Liam clarified his position.

Louis felt a heat creeping up his cheeks, inadvertently answering Liam's query. He sighed. "It's cold out. Come in."

Liam hesitated for a brief moment, then his shoulders sagged, and he pushed past Louis into the house.

Louis couldn't help but feel a touch of déjà vu when he asked Liam if he could take his coat. Had it only been a few short days since Harry had made the same offer?

"I'm fine," Liam turned him down. "I'm not staying all that long."

"Let's at least go sit in the lounge," Louis implored. "My mum, sisters, and brother are out shopping, so we won't be interrupted."

"Fine," Liam agreed in a clipped voice.

Louis led the way into the lounge, deciding very quickly that he didn't need to bother to offer Liam anything to drink.

The minute they'd taken seats on opposite sides of the long leather couch, Liam repeated his earlier question. "Did you accuse Harry of sleeping with someone else?"

Louis had no choice but to nod sheepishly. Liam was obviously working with a lot of information.

"Are you trying to break his heart?" Liam wondered aloud.

"No," Louis said. "I'm just trying to find out the truth."

"The truth is, Louis, that you and Harry were meant for each other. Right from the start, he idolised you, and you idolised him," Liam told him. "There has never, ever been anyone else. Not since the day you met. Has someone been telling you different?"

Louis wriggled uncomfortably in his seat. "Hannah."

"Hannah who you broke up with practically the day after you met Harry?" Liam checked, his tone not a little condescending.

"She told me Harry and I were never a thing. She and I were, and I was just humouring Harry." Even as he said it, he was beginning to think things were not at all as Hannah had led him to believe.

"She lied," Liam declared. "You and Harry were together. You went into the closet together, you put up with all the shit together. You were end game, Louis. He would never, ever, ever cheat on you. Not ever. And before the accident, you would never, ever have cheated on him." The unspoken _"Like you are now"_ hung in the air over Louis's head.

"I don't remember him," Louis tried to explain. "Not even a little. But I remember Hannah. I remember asking her out, I remember dating her, I remember sleeping with her."

"All of that's true. Then you met Harry at _X-Factor_ boot camp, and that was it. I've never seen two people more in love with each other than the two of you. It was quite sickening, actually," Liam joked.

Louis didn't know what to say. Since he'd woken up from the coma, there had never been a moment in which he wished his memory would return that was stronger than this one.

"The babies are yours, Louis," Liam continued. "They weren't planned. Not yet, anyway. The two of you were always going to have kids, but you were going to wait until you were a little older and the band a little less exhausting. But in less than five months, they're going to be here. Your babies. Yours."

"I don't know what to do," Louis confessed.

"Think about it," Liam urged. "Think about what makes sense. Talk to Hannah. Make her tell you the truth. Then get with the program."

Louis was beginning to see that he had no choice. He was going to have to have some hard conversations at some point in the near future. In a small voice, he inquired, "How is Harry doing?"

Liam pulled no punches. "He's sick nearly every day. He misses you like crazy, but he won't admit it. He says he's trying to let you go, but I know he can't. He's trying to be excited about the babies, but he can't because he feels ill ninety percent of the time, and the babies' other father is denying them."

"I'm sorry, Liam. Really, I am." Louis meant every single word.

"Then do something about it." Liam stood and straightened out his coat. Louis guessed he'd said everything he came to say.

Louis stood, too, and followed Liam to the door.

"Do something, Louis," Liam repeated as he reached for the doorknob.

Louis could only nod.

"Thanks." Liam opened the door. As an afterthought, he added, "Oh, by the way, Happy birthday."

Louis had almost forgotten. His birthday was in just two days, Christmas in three. "Thanks. Thanks for remembering."

He watched as Liam bounded down the stairs and raced to his car. He stayed in the doorway long enough to watch Liam's car become nothing more than a speck in the distance.

His mum, his sisters, and Hannah had all asked Louis what he wanted for his birthday. As he closed the door, he figured out exactly what he wanted: a little honesty.

_HARRY_

Harry had never been happier about the existence of online shopping than he was during this particular Christmas season. Between the nausea, the press hounding him, and his growing baby bump, it was nice not to have to leave the house.

He'd enlisted Niall's aid to help him wrap presents and decorate the tree. Christmas was just a few days away, and Harry had gotten nothing done in the house. He wanted it to be a little festive, though, even if he was traveling to his mum's for the actual holiday.

Every day he was growing a little more used to the idea that he'd be raising his little girl and his little boy all on his own. Well, not on his own, he supposed--as everyone kept reminding him--but without Louis. It was a hard dream to let go of. He and Louis had spent many a night holding each other and mapping out their future. Kids had always, always been a big part of that.

"Time for some Bublé!" Niall proclaimed, pulling a CD from the bag he'd brought over.

Harry grinned as Niall placed the CD reverently in the stereo and the warm, dulcet tones of Niall's favourite singer's voice filled the room.

"Amazing, isn't he?" Niall asked.

Even if he was a rhetorical question, Harry still agreed. "Amazing."

Niall appraised the small tree he'd bought in a tree lot on his way to Harry's. Harry had not wanted a huge tree this year. Not with everything going on. Just a small tree, he'd said. "Want lights and tinsel on it?" Niall inquired.

Harry nodded. "Maybe just the white lights and the thin tinsel?"

"Sounds good to me." Niall dived into the box labelled "Lights" and started digging for the strings of tiny lights.

Niall wouldn't let Harry do anything except supervise. Harry had spent the entire morning being sick, so as much as he would have loved helping, he was grateful to be able to just sit and relax.

As he watched Niall begin to carefully wrap the stringed lights around the tree--starting at the top, then working his way down--Harry leaned back against the pile of pillows in the corner of the couch and rested a gentle hand on his belly.

 _Cold December Night_ began. Harry knew the title because it was Niall's favourite song. He noted so every time they listened to the CD. Sure enough, Niall started singing along with Michael at the top of his lungs, making Harry grin again.

In the past few weeks, he'd been feeling what Google told him were surely little butterfly kicks, his twins letting him know they were there. They were a little hard to distinguish from the nausea, although they didn't make his nose tingle or his throat close up. As Niall's beautiful voice rang through the air, he felt more than little butterfly kicks. For the first time, he felt what was undoubtedly a full-on kick, then another, then another, and another.

"Niall!" he cried.

Niall stopped singing and dropped the lights to make his way over to Harry's side. "You okay?" he questioned, brow furrowed with worry.

Harry grabbed for Niall's hand and placed it on the swell of his stomach. He waited for the babies to kick again. "There! Do you feel that?"

Niall beamed. "That's amazing, Haz. They're proper kicking in there."

"It was you," Harry told him. "Well, you or Michael one. When you started singing along, they started to kick."

"They have spectacular taste already," Niall concluded. He leaned down close to Harry's belly and began to sing along with the next song on the CD, _I'll Be Home For Christmas_. He was rewarded with some more ebullient kicks.

Harry was not surprised to feel pinprick tears in the corner of his eyes. He was surprised at the need to acknowledge to himself that they weren't happy tears.

Niall, ever vigilant, noticed the tears beginning to stream down Harry's cheek. He seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to Harry these days and immediately asked, "What's wrong, H?"

Harry swallowed, working hard to not allow the softly falling tears to become big, huge sobs. "Louis should be here."

Niall nodded and offered Harry a sweet, supportive smile. "I wish he was, too. I tried. I really did."

"I know," Harry assured him. "It's just…. It's his birthday in a couple days. We haven't spent one of his birthdays apart since we met."

"I know. It sucks," Niall concurred. "He shouldn't be missing this. Hopefully he's sorting things out. Who knows? He could come back any day now."

Harry shook his head. "He's not coming back. If his memory were going to return, it would have by now."

"Stop that negative thinking!" Niall ordered, gently backhanding Harry's upper arm. "He'll come around."

"You can't know that," Harry chided.

"Neither can you. So stop being a Negative Nancy, and tell me how far apart to put these lights." Niall gave Harry's bump a tiny pat, then walked back over to the tree.

"Just a little space between them," Harry suggested. "Let's go ahead and make it festive."

* * *

Harry made it through Christmas Eve with lots of help from his family. They kept him plenty distracted and plenty entertained. They agreed to watch _Love Actually_ more than the usual once, and they all went out carolling, which Harry used to love doing when he was a little kid and discovered he still did now. It was especially satisfying to knock on a door and watch the realisation dawn on his neighbours that Harry Styles was at their door singing Christmas songs. Harry made sure to throw in _Good King Wenceslas_ for good measure, just as Hugh Grant had so memorably done in _Love Actually_. Harry only thought about the fact that it was Louis' birthday a hundred or so times, which he counted as a win.

On Christmas, they ended up with a full house, with all of the Styleses and Selleys coming out to celebrate. And even though he'd asked them not to--Harry thought that it was bad luck--many of his relatives gave him tiny things for the twins.

Niall and his mum arrived on Boxing Day, and Niall brought with him the gift which quickly became Harry's favourite. Now that he was heading into his sixth month, and the nausea and dehydration was no better, Niall offered to move in for the remainder of Harry's pregnancy. And if neither of them acknowledged that taking care of Harry should have been Louis' job...well, they could be forgiven, Harry decided.

Harry only protested a little before giving in and saying yes to Niall's offer. He needed all the help he could get.

_LOUIS_

Louis waited until Christmas was over and all of their relatives had gone before approaching Hannah. He told himself he didn't want to wreck anyone's holiday, but if he was honest, he just needed time to accept the fact that his family and girlfriend (ex-girlfriend?) may have been lying to him from the moment they'd walked into his hospital room.

It was the day after Boxing Day, and Hannah had suggested they go ice skating at the pond not far from Louis' house. Louis agreed, not telling her there probably wouldn't be much ice skating.

Louis made sure they chose a log not too close to any of the other skaters to sit down on to put on their skates.

Before Hannah could begin to pull off her boots, though, Louis stopped her, laying his hand on top of hers. "We need to talk."

Hannah looked up at him guilelessly. "Oh?"

Louis drew in a deep breath, then looked her straight in the eye. "You've been lying to me."

Hannah opened her mouth, no doubt to protest, but Louis stared her down. Even now, he didn't want to believe that Hannah had misled him, but he knew that if he gave her an inch, she'd take a mile.

She shivered, whether from the cold or the accusation, Louis couldn't begin to know. "Did you remember something?" she wanted to know.

Louis shook his head. "Liam came to visit. He made some good arguments for the idea that my relationship with Harry was a little more than just friendly."

"Louis…." Hannah began. She seemed unable to come up with what she wanted to say, and her shoulders sagged.

"Hannah, were you and I really together these past five years?" Louis asked pointedly.

At first, Hannah went completely still. Then she slowly shook her head. "No. You broke up with me before _X-Factor_ even started airing. You told me you'd fallen for someone else." She sighed. "You were in love with Harry."

It was Louis' turn to sigh. "Did my mum know?"

Hannah nodded this time. "You told her. And she was pretty disappointed to find out that you were gay."

"When was the last time we really spoke?" Louis inquired.

"Five years ago," Hannah admitted regretfully. "You and I were done. You were with Harry, and One Direction blew up, and that was that. There was no room for me."

"And me and my family?"

"The same. Your mum couldn't handle you being gay, and she told you not to come home until you'd come to your senses," she reported. Her eyes were sad, and Louis could tell it pained her to have to give him this news.

"So Harry wasn't lying. Those are my babies," Louis concluded.

Hannah nodded again. "I'm so sorry, Louis. For lying, I mean."

"Why did you do it?" Louis questioned. He actually thought he had a pretty good idea of why she'd done it, but he wanted to hear it from her. "Harry told me you had a boyfriend."

"I wanted you back, so I broke up with him," she told him. Louis shivered at how cavalier she was. "I've never stopped loving you."

"Did my being in the band have anything to do with it?" he pressed for more information.

She shrugged. "Maybe."

Louis didn't hound her for more. He realised he didn't need more. "It's over, Hannah," he said. "I'm going to see if Harry will take me back. I want to be there for him and for the babies."

Hannah sighed once more. "I hope it works out."

"Me, too. It's a lot to take in," he confessed.

"I'm sure." She added, "I really am sorry, Lou."

"I know," he assured her. "Though I don't like your methods, I guess I can see your side of things."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I was just excited by the idea of having you back."

Louis informed her, "Once I get over the lying--if I can get over the lying--maybe we can try being friends."

"I'd like that." She sounded sad, though, like she didn't think it would actually happen.

Louis went on to say, "I think we should pass on the skating. I really need to talk to my mum and start packing my things."

Hannah shook her head. "I understand."

As he slung his skates over his shoulder and stood to offer her his hand, he told her, "Thanks for finally being honest with me."

She let him help her up. "I guess it's all working out the way it's meant to. Even if it means you're not with me."

It would take a little while for that idea to sink in. He was not Hannah's. He was Harry's.

_HARRY_

Any day now the hospital was going to start charging him rent. Harry gazed up at the IV dripping fluids slowly into his system, then rested a hand on his stomach.

"Okay, little ones, you need to calm down in there," Harry insisted in as firm a voice as he could muster. "You're not to scare Daddy like that."

This particular trip to the hospital had been inspired by not just the nausea he'd been feeling for months, but also some severe pain in his side. Turned out he was not just dehydrated, but one of the babies had gotten themselves into a position which pressed on a nerve.

By coincidence, Dr. Walsh was on call again when Niall brought him in after he nearly passed out in the bathroom from the combination of nausea and pain. She ordered some fluids and did an ultrasound. She assured Harry that the pain would end as soon as Baby B--his little girl--changed position. Though he'd gotten a little sleep overnight, she still hadn't moved.

Harry hissed as the baby dug her foot right into his nerve for what felt like the millionth time in the space of a day. "C'mon, little girl, turn around. Just a little bit," he whispered.

He tried to breathe deeply, but that didn't really help, so he settled for trying to relax into his pillows.

The millionth and one dig into his nerve caused him to grab his side protectively and hiss once more. At the same time, there was a timid knock on his hospital room door. Harry glanced over and did an immediate double take. Louis was standing on the threshold.

"Louis?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Can I come in?" Louis' tone was tentative, as if he wasn't sure he'd be welcome.

Harry nodded and inched himself backwards on the bed until he was a little more upright.

Louis moved inside the room and stationed himself about two feet from where Harry lay. "Um…." He shuffled his feet and cleared his throat before trying again. "I, um, stopped by the house first thing this morning, but Niall said you'd been admitted to the hospital late last night. I hitched a ride here with him and convinced him to give me just a few minutes with you before he came in. He's gone to get a cup of coffee."

"Okay," Harry allowed.

After a short pause, Louis inquired, "Are you feeling any better this morning?"

With a shrug, Harry reported, "The nausea's a little better, but the little miss is still stepping right on this nerve." He pointed to the spot which had quickly become the bane of his existence.

"The little miss?" Louis repeated. "You're having girls?"

Harry shook his head. "Just one. One girl and one boy."

Louis held out a hesitant hand toward Harry's belly. "May I?"

Harry took just a moment to steel himself; it had been a long while since Louis had touched him. When he thought he might be ready, he said, "Sure."

Stepping forward slowly, Louis gently placed his hand on the swell at the top of Harry's baby bump. It was not long before one of the twins decided to give a little good morning kick. Louis gasped. "Was that...?"

"That was one of them already practising some football," Harry confirmed wryly.

Louis left his hand right where it was for a few seconds more, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Louis?" Harry waited for Louis to lift his eyes. When Louis' gaze met his, Harry posed the question of the hour. "Why are you here?"

Louis sighed and pulled his hand off Harry's stomach. "I'm here to apologise."

"Apologise?"

"You tried to tell me the truth, and I didn't believe you." Louis' tone was cautious, clearly unsure of how welcome he was at this point. He dropped his shoulders. "I'm not sure I wanted to believe you."

"Is your memory…?" Harry could not help but be excited at the possibility.

Louis was swift to shake his head. "No. Still gone."

"Then…. What happened?" Harry wanted--no, _needed_ \--to know.

"Liam came to let me have it," Louis revealed. "What he told me made way more sense than what Hannah and my family told me. When I confronted Hannah, she admitted that she lied."

"Your mum, too?" Harry checked.

Louis nodded. "I apparently told her I was gay at the end of _X-Factor_. It was not the happiest news she'd ever gotten." He chuckled darkly. "When I woke up and didn't remember anything, she figured it was a chance to try to rewrite my past."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but another jab to his hip made him stop and gasp, grabbing at his side once more.

Louis winced in sympathy. "She get you again?"

Harry nodded. Ruefully, he noted, "She better play for England with that foot."

Louis laughed, then groaned as he met Harry's pained gaze. "Did the doctor say anything about what might help her to move?"

"She mentioned walking," Harry answered. "Last night I felt too nauseated, but maybe I could handle it today." He kicked the sheet off his legs and shifted to climb off the bed.

"Need any help?" Louis wondered aloud.

Harry didn't think so and was all set to plant his feet on the floor and stand up when his head swam just a little. Instinctively, he reached out for Louis. Louis grabbed Harry's outstretched hand with his right hand and used his left to brace Harry's arm.

"Easy," Louis suggested.

Harry took a moment to compose himself, then nodded. "Help would be awesome."

Louis used his hold on Harry's arm to give Harry just the right leverage to get up. Once he was upright, Harry stood still for a moment to make sure the dizziness had passed. As he took hold of his IV pole, he gazed over at Louis. "Ready?"

"Ready when you are."

They slowly made their way out of Harry's hospital room, Harry keeping a hold of Louis' hand for support.

As they walked toward the nurses' station, Louis asked, "So, when are you due?"

"The 11th of May," Harry told him. "Though since they're twins, they will probably be early. My doctor said if they can make it to the 11th of April, they'll be small, but should be just fine."

"Spring babies," Louis commented.

"At least I won't have to be pregnant when it's hot out," Harry said with a smirk.

"So, the nausea hasn't gotten any better?" Louis supposed.

Harry shook his head. "I'm sick almost every day." He ran a hand over his swollen belly. "They're definitely giving me a run for my money."

The boys rounded the corner where the nurses monitored the floor. The next hallway was long; plenty of time for the tiny little one inside him to perhaps shift into a position which didn't cause him so much pain.

She wasn't going to do it right away. They had only barely cleared the nurses' station when she gave the nerve in his rib another push. "Shit!" Harry stopped moving and rubbed at his hip.

Right before Harry was about to start back down the hall, Louis squeezed Harry's arm to get his attention. When Harry made eye contact with him, Louis stated, "I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry furrowed his brow in confusion. "Sorry for what."

Louis gestured at Harry's bump. "I believe we've established that this is my fault."

Harry gave a vehement shake of his head and wrapped a protective hand around his stomach. "We made them together. And even as sick as this is making me, and even as much pain as I'm feeling today, I'm not sorry. We didn't mean to have them quite yet, but we wanted kids. I can't wait to meet them."

Louis smiled. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that I'm going to be a father."

"You have plenty of time," Harry assured him, resuming his trip down the hallway.

The rest of their walk was done in a surprisingly comfortable silence. They had just about made it back to Harry's room when he stopped dead in his tracks. He scrabbled for Louis' hand, placing it on his side.

"What am I feeling for?" Louis asked.

"She's moved! She's kicking me just a few inches away from where she was."

Harry could tell the instant Louis felt the baby kick from the grin that took over his face. "Are you sure that's her?"

"I'm pretty sure," Harry told him, relieved that at least one of the problems he'd suffered might be over. "That kick was just a little bit above where she was kicking before, and the pain's gone."

"That's good, then, yeah?"

"Very." Harry pushed the IV pole through the door to his room, then followed it, Louis not far behind.

Once inside, Louis helped Harry back into bed. "When do you think they'll release you?"

As Harry situated the sheet over his stomach, he replied, "Dr. Walsh said she'd be by to check on me this morning. If everything seems okay, she'll release me then."

Louis puffed out a breath and frowned.

"What? Is something wrong?" Harry inquired.

With a small shake of his head, Louis explained, "I didn't just come to your house this morning to apologise."

"You didn't?"

"No, I came to see if I could talk you into letting me move back into the house. I really want to be there to help both before and after the babies come. I just didn't think I'd be springing this on you when you were in hospital." Louis audibly held his breath awaiting Harry's response.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Harry said, trying hard to remain cautious even as his heart was trying hard to be optimistic. "It's not something Liam pressured you to do?"

"He just wanted me to accept that the babies were mine and that you and I have been together for the last five years. He never suggested moving back to your house. Our house," he corrected himself. "That part's me. I can't stay with my mum anymore. Not after she lied. And Hannah and I are done. We may be friends again one day, but otherwise, we're done."

"Niall just moved in last week. It's just temporary to help me out, but I'm not kicking him out," Harry warned. "He's been fantastic."

Louis nodded. "I get it. That's fine." Although he thought he and Harry being alone together was the best way to get back in some kind of sync, he had no business demanding that Niall leave. "It'll be fun being all together."

Harry chuckled. "I'm not sure I believe you believe that, but I'll take it. I'm happy you want to come home."

Louis sighed with relief. "Can I just wait here with you until you're released? I could hear what the doctor has to say, then take you home myself."

"Sure," Harry agreed readily. "That would be great. I'll just text Niall and tell him we'll see him at home later." To that end, he grabbed his mobile from the side table littered with his personal effects.

After Louis settled himself down in a nearby chair to wait, the two chatted about nothing of much consequence. Now that he was more receptive to the idea of exploring who he'd been the last half-decade, Louis seemed content to let Harry fill him in on the kinds of things they'd experienced since becoming a worldwide pop sensation.

They were just covering Harry's memories of their very first trip to South Africa when Dr. Walsh appeared. She was right on time for Harry's check-up.

"Good morning, Harry," she greeted him brightly. Turning to appraise Louis, she went on, "And who might this be?"

"This is my friend Louis," Harry introduced. "Louis, this is Dr. Walsh."

With a smile, Louis stood to shake the doctor's hand. When she dropped his hand, he pointed in the direction of Harry's middle. "I'm the babies' other father."

Dr. Walsh raised her eyebrows and glanced over at Harry. "Oh?"

Harry could not keep the huge grin from splitting his face at Louis' out loud recognition that these were his babies. He nodded to confirm Louis' declaration.

"Excellent!" Dr. Walsh exclaimed. "Now, are you ready for me to see how you and those babies are doing, Harry?"

"Absolutely."

The doctor gestured to someone standing just outside the door and they came in with a portable ultrasound machine. Though this was a procedure Harry was already more than familiar with, Louis stared at the machine with confusion.

Harry laughed. "It's an ultrasound machine, Louis. To check on the babies."

"I'll get to see them?" Louis asked, the excitement he felt evident in his tone.

"Yep," Harry confirmed. "Come sit over on this side."

Louis dragged a chair from a far corner of the room and pulled it up to the opposite side of the bed from where he'd been sitting just a short while ago.

Harry lifted his hospital gown, exposing his swollen stomach. Out of the corner of his eye he checked Louis' reaction, but Louis still appeared stunned by the news that he was about to be able to see his babies for the first time. He didn't seem at all put off by the sight of Harry's belly.

Dr. Walsh squeezed some gel onto the topmost part of Harry's baby bump, then swirled her wand around to find the very best view of the twins. Louis watched the monitor with an intensity Harry hadn't observed in Louis in years. Harry just watched Louis, wanting nothing more than to take in Louis' reaction upon first seeing his little boy and his little girl.

"There!" the doctor proclaimed. She pointed to specific spots on the monitor as she reported, "That's Baby A, your little boy, and there's Baby B, your little girl."

Louis leaned in closer to get a good look at the babies. "Are they okay?" he questioned the doctor.

"They look wonderful. Baby B looks to have moved since last night, too," Dr. Walsh remarked. "Do you have any pain in your side now, Harry?"

He shook his head. "No. We took a walk around the floor earlier, like you'd suggested, and I could tell just about the exact second she moved."

"That's great. With any luck, she won't head back into that position again." The doctor added, "Everything looks just as it should. The babies are the right size for the halfway point of twin gestation, and they don't seem to be in any distress."

Louis sighed with relief.

As Dr. Walsh removed the ultrasound wand and handed Harry a cloth to clean with, she asked him, "How's the nausea this morning?"

"Better. The fluids seem to be helping. Just like last time. And the time before that," he said ruefully.

"Well, I can't promise you won't end up back here again," the doctor returned. "But what matters is that the treatment seems to be working every time. As long as we can control it and the babies stay healthy, we should have no problem getting you close to term."

"Thanks," Harry said, feeling as relieved as Louis looked.

She went on to say, "Make sure to take it easy, Harry. Stressing yourself out will only exacerbate the nausea. I can't recall, are you living on your own at home?"

"My bandmate Niall just moved in--" Harry began, getting cut off right in the middle of what he meant to say.

"--and I'm moving back in today," Louis completed Harry's thought for him.

"Let them do the heavy lifting, then," Dr. Walsh implored.

Harry nodded his understanding. "I'll try."

"All right, then, assuming you feel well enough to go, I'm happy to go ahead and release you this morning."

"That would be great," Harry stated with a smile. He was more than ready to go home.

"I'll have the nurses draw up the paperwork," Dr. Walsh promised.

Harry offered up some more gratitude, then the doctor went off to find whoever it was she was tasking with Harry's release papers.

When she was gone, Harry looked over to Louis. "Niall was supposed to bring new clothes, but I guess I can just as easily get into what I was wearing when we came in last night. I think they're on the counter over there." He pointed to the small counter set right next to the corner of the room.

Louis went to collect the clothes, then turned to give Harry some privacy as he got out of the hospital gown and back into the sweatshirt and joggers he'd been wearing when Niall insisted they drive to the A&E.

He was just finished dressing when the same nurse who'd brought in the ultrasound machine walked in with a clipboard. "Ready to go, Mr. Styles?"

"More than," Harry replied.

"Sign here, please." She handed over the clipboard and the pen. He hurried through his signature in the three places she indicated. "You're all set."

"No offense, but I hope I don't see you again too soon," Harry told her with a grin.

"None taken," the nurse assured him, matching his grin with her own.

Harry wanted to walk on his own power, so once the nurse was gone, he collected his things and he and Louis made their way to the hospital exit.

Louis led the way straight to a waiting taxi. "I haven't been cleared to drive yet, so while you were changing, I called for a ride." He opened the back door for Harry to climb inside, then headed around to the far back door to slide in next to Harry.

While Louis gave the driver Harry's address, Harry settled back in his seat. Glancing over at Louis, he felt a little spark of joy spread from his heart through his entire body. He knew they had a long way to go, but Louis was back. 

As they drove through the city towards home, Harry decided maybe…just maybe…it might be okay to hope that now everything would work out. He closed his eyes, lay back his head, and dreamed.

_LOUIS_

Although Harry had texted Niall to let him know Louis had shown up at the hospital, Niall still seemed mildly surprised when Louis escorted Harry through the front door.

"Hi, Niall," Louis greeted hesitantly, unsure of how warm Niall's welcome would be.

Niall's smile was small, but present. "Louis." His attention switched to Harry, then. "Hey, Haz, how're you doing?"

Harry shrugged out of his jacket and slipped it onto the empty hook on the corner coat rack. "Much better than last night, but I'm exhausted."

"Why don't you go lay down in the lounge, and I'll get you some tea?" Niall suggested.

"That sounds amazing," Harry agreed, already moving in the direction of their soft leather couch and television.

"Do you need any help?" Louis asked Niall.

Niall declined the offer with a quick shake of the head. "I think I can handle it. Do you want any tea?"

"Tea would be great."

"Yorkshire, still?" Niall checked. "Strong, no sugar?"

"Yes, please." It was still somewhat disconcerting to have someone he didn't know very well knowing things about him like how he liked his tea, but he found he was actually starting to get used to it.

"Can you go check on him?" Niall gestured in the direction in which Harry had gone.

Louis shook off his reverie and nodded amiably. "Sure." He headed for the lounge--and Harry--while Niall made for the kitchen.

By the time Louis arrived at his destination, Harry had lowered himself down on the couch and was reaching for the remote, which was about two inches too far away from his fingertips. Harry was grunting unhappily as he tried in vain to reach it.

"Here, let me," Louis said, picking up the remote and handing it over.

Harry smiled gratefully and powered the telly on as Louis settled into the nearby easy chair. He surfed the channels for a little while, settling on a late morning chat show just as Niall appeared with a tray bearing two teapots, three mugs, a creamer, a sugar bowl, and three spoons.

Harry made it through no more than three sips of the herbal tea Niall had prepared specially for him. With minimal help from Niall, then, he lay down for a nap, passing out almost instantly.

Niall grabbed the throw blanket folded on the back of the couch and spread it out over Harry. He located the remote and turned the volume on the television down a couple notches before turning to Louis. "Should we move into the kitchen so he can sleep in peace?"

"Sure." Louis stood and followed Niall into the kitchen. He let Niall choose a seat first, then set his drink down before sitting down in the opposite chair.

Louis began to sip at his tea nervously as Niall appraised him carefully.

"So," Niall finally began, speaking softly even though the slumbering Harry lay in the room next door, "Haz said you're moving back in?"

"I'd like to," Louis answered carefully, wanting to be sure to avoid any toes.

"What made you change your mind?" Niall wanted to know.

"Liam," Louis replied easily.

"Liam?" Niall echoed.

With a nod, Louis explained, "He paid me a visit and made a compelling argument for the idea that my family and Hannah were lying to me. When I spoke to them, they confessed."

"I'm sorry." Niall shot him a sympathetic smile.

"I'm the one who's sorry," Louis countered. "You told me and Harry told me, but I didn't see it until Liam came over. Third time's the charm and all that, I guess."

"You've had a lot to deal with. I get it," Niall told him. "But, there's no turning back now. You know that, yeah? You can't leave him again."

"I know," Louis assured him. "I want to be here for him. Him and the babies."

"I hope you mean that." Niall took a sip of his tea. "I think he was trying to brace himself for having to raise the twins on his own. He was always going to have our help of course--his family, Liam, and me--but having you with him is what he really needs."

Louis nodded. "I really want to be here. Not that it isn't weird, because I'd be lying if I said it wasn't, but the babies are mine just as much as they are his, and he shouldn't have to be taking care of them all alone."

Niall paused for thought, draining half of his mug in the process. "You do get that he's in love with you, don't you? Has been for years."

Louis nodded once more. "I got that when I was still in the hospital. I just…." He sighed heavily.

"Didn't remember?" Niall supplied a possible conclusion to Louis' sentence.

"Yeah," Louis ruefully concurred. "Then Hannah lied to me, and it just made sense. Until…it didn't."

"Well, I'm glad you're back," Niall stated. He went on to add, "If you hurt him, I will kill you, and Liam will help. That clear?"

Louis expected nothing less.

* * *

They settled into a routine quickly. Harry took care of the cooking--when he was feeling well--Niall took care of the cooking when Harry was not. Niall was responsible for Harry, and Louis had to work against every messy fibre in his being to keep the house as tidy as he could. Louis would have been happy to be the one responsible for Harry, but Niall would have none of it.

By mid-January, Louis was feeling a little more comfortable in the house, even if his memory was still MIA. It didn't seem to matter than he was constantly around two (sometimes three, if Liam dropped by) of the people he'd apparently spent the past five years surrounded by, he still didn't remember a thing.

Even better, though, Niall began to loosen the reins just a little, letting Louis take care of Harry, who was now twenty-four weeks pregnant, still sick much of the time, and getting heavier by the day.

Their management called a meeting to discuss summer plans on the Friday of Harry's twenty-fourth week. Niall and Liam agreed to take the meeting, leaving Louis alone with Harry for virtually the first daytime hour since Louis had seen Harry home from the hospital in late December.

Harry was not feeling great, as was often the case these days, so Louis made them some tea and they sat in the lounge to watch telly. Harry had located _The Notebook_ , a movie he said he had made Louis watch once before, but since Louis had forgotten that, Harry needed to show him again.

They were at the halfway mark of the movie when Harry gasped loudly and clutched at the bottom of his stomach.

Louis immediately grabbed the remote and paused the movie. "What's wrong, Harry?"

Harry shook his head and grimaced. After a moment, his face relaxed, and he visibly tried to get his breathing under control. "That hurt," he stated when he was able.

Sidling a little closer to Harry, he inquired, "What was it? Did one of them kick you?"

"That was not a kick," Harry said ruefully. "That was something else."

Louis was just about to ask what he could do to help when Harry slapped a hand over his mouth and made to get off the sofa. When it became clear that Harry was struggling to get up, Louis jumped up and got a hold of Harry's arm to help him. As soon as Harry was up, he made a beeline for the nearest loo. He almost made it, too, throwing up just outside the bathroom door.

Louis was not far behind him, and he followed Harry right into the tiny loo and helped Harry lower himself down so he could throw up a second time into the toilet.

This was the not the first time Harry had gotten sick since Louis moved back in. Not even close. It was, however, the first time Harry had gotten sick since Louis moved back in that Niall wasn't there to take care of him.

Gently, Louis placed a hand on the top part of Harry's back, rubbing his palm in what he hoped were soothing circles as Harry threw up just about everything he'd eaten that day. "What can I do?"

Harry had one hand underneath his belly and one on the side of the toilet bowl, and he dry heaved twice before he could answer. "Cool cloth? On my neck?"

Louis procured the closest towel he could find, folded it, and ran it under some cold water. He then lifted Harry's hair from the back of his head to place the cold cloth over Harry's neck. The instant it touched his skin, Harry moaned appreciatively. "That okay?" Louis checked.

"Mmhm," Harry murmured.

Louis held the cloth in place while Harry dry heaved another few times. Louis removed the cloth when Harry rose, settling his bottom onto his heels, though he kept the cloth in hand, just in case Harry needed it again.

Harry had no sooner stopped throwing up when he gasped and clutched at his belly again, just as he had on the couch not very much earlier. He groaned at the pain, and Louis fervently wished he knew what to do beyond resting his hand on Harry's shoulder so he'd know someone was with him. When Harry's face was no longer pinched, Louis drew out his mobile. "Should I call Niall?"

"No," Harry replied, shaking his head. "I think we should just go to A&E. I don't know what this is, but it isn't good."

Louis nodded. "Okay. I'll call for a taxi." He opened his mobile and ordered a taxi, then helped Harry to his feet. "Lean on me, yeah?"

Harry obligingly slung an arm over Louis' shoulder and let him guide them to the front door, stopping only to shrug on winter coats before heading out into the cold to wait for the taxi. It was lightly snowing, but Louis didn't think it would impede their trip to hospital.

While they waited, Louis texted Niall to let him know where they were headed. Niall texted back within seconds saying he would meet them there.

The taxi arrived quickly, and as soon as Louis told the driver where they needed to go, the driver assured them he would get them there straight away.

The taxi driver was as good as his word, pulling up to the A&E entrance less than fifteen minutes later. Harry had experienced this new, sharp pain once during the ride, but he thankfully didn't throw up again. When Louis tried to pay the driver, the driver wouldn't take his money, saying no one should have to pay for a ride to the hospital.

In a repeat of their trip from the house to the taxi, Louis got Harry to sling his arm around his shoulders, and he walked them through the A&E door.

It took almost no time for a nurse to spot them and push a wheelchair over for Harry to sink into as Louis swiftly listed Harry's symptoms for her, being sure to mention that Harry had ongoing hyperemesis gravidarum.

The nurse introduced herself as Amy and steered Harry into a cubicle where she and Louis aided him onto a cot. Amy took Harry's vitals, then said a doctor would be in momentarily. Harry told her that the last few times he'd been there, Dr. Walsh had been his doctor, and Amy said she would check to see if Dr. Walsh happened to be there.

After Amy left to hunt down the doctor, Louis turned to Harry. "How're you doing? Any more pain?"

Harry was still holding onto the bottom of his stomach for dear life, but he shook his head. "Not yet."

"How's the nausea?"

Harry tilted his head as if to gauge how he felt. "Not too bad. I definitely feel a little woozy, though."

There wasn't much Louis could say beyond, "Hopefully the doctor will get here soon."

Luck was not Harry's friend on this day, however, and he was seized with yet another stabbing pain which had him crying out sharply. All Louis could do was grip Harry's shoulder as he moaned through the pain, continuing to let Harry know he was not alone.

Harry was just calming down again when Dr. Walsh strode through the privacy curtain. Louis took one look at her and sighed with relief. "Thank God."

"Harry, I had hoped not to see you again so soon," the doctor said wryly.

"I had hoped that, too," Harry returned. "These little ones don't seem to be on the same page."

"What seems to be going on?" Dr. Walsh asked.

"Sharp pains in the lower part of my stomach," Harry reported. "And I threw up a lot, too, though that's not really unusual."

"How often are the pains?" the doctor wanted to know.

Harry shrugged, unsure. He looked up to Louis to see if he knew. "Maybe every ten to fifteen minutes or so," Louis guessed.

"Have they increased in strength at all?" was Dr. Walsh's next question.

This Harry had to answer. "No. They've been the same every time. A sharp pain right here." He pointed to the bottom swell of his baby bump.

Dr. Walsh nodded. "Sounds like Braxton Hicks contractions."

"Braxton Hicks?" Louis repeated.

"False labour," Harry explained, looking to the doctor for confirmation.

She nodded once more. "They aren't always painful, but it seems your babies are determined not to make anything easy for you."

"Maybe they're getting it all out of their system, and they'll be model children," Harry opined wistfully.

Louis couldn't help but chuckle.

"I want to do a quick exam to make sure you aren't dilating, then I can do an ultrasound and get you some fluids." Dr. Walsh declared. "How's that sound?"

"Sounds fine, but what about the Braxton Hicks?" Harry queried.

"They should go away on their own," she said. "You just need to relax and give it some time."

"Okay," Harry acknowledged.

Louis stayed up at the head of the bed while the doctor gave Harry a quick internal exam. "No dilation whatsoever," she proclaimed, clearly pleased by this result.

Harry smiled. "Great."

"I'll just go see what I can do to get an ultrasound in here," Dr. Walsh announced.

Niall came bursting through the curtain just as Dr. Walsh was leaving. The doctor smiled and put her hand up to Niall's chest to slow him down. "Mr. Horan," she greeted him warmly.

Niall looked over her shoulder to Harry to check his friend was okay. Harry smiled at him. "I'm all right, Ni."

After heaving a sigh of relief, Niall met the doctor's gaze. "Hey, there, Dr. Walsh."

"Hi," she returned. "Why don't you keep these two company while I go grab the ultrasound?"

"I can do that," Niall agreed.

She nodded approvingly, then continued on her original path out into the main part of A&E to look for the machine she needed.

"Everything's really okay?" Niall checked, moving to the side of the cot Louis wasn't on.

"It's just false labour," Harry told him. As if to prove his point, a Braxton Hicks contraction washed over him right at that moment, making him wince. Niall grabbed his hand, and Harry squeezed it through the length of the contraction so tightly that Louis could see Niall's fingers turning white.

When the pain had passed and Harry relaxed his hold on Niall, Niall wondered aloud, "That's normal?"

"Apparently so," Louis replied. He certainly hoped it was, in any case, and not something dangerous for either Harry or the babies.

"I'm fine," Harry insisted, breathing in and out deeply, obviously trying to forestall any more nausea.

"You sure?" Niall asked sceptically.

"I'm positive," Harry told him. A second later, he rubbed at his swollen belly and amended his statement. "I'm almost positive."

Dr. Walsh reappeared before the conversation could go any further. Behind her, Nurse Amy pushed a portable ultrasound machine into the cubicle. Amy ushered Niall out of his spot and set up the machine for the doctor to use.

This routine was old hat for Harry and Niall, and Louis wasn't even a newbie. Dr. Walsh spread gel over Harry's stomach, then moved the wand around until she found the babies. After studying the monitor for a second, she said, "Looking good. They both look very healthy, just as they did a couple weeks ago."

All three young men sighed, relieved at the news. The doctor was kind enough to point out where the twins were hanging out--one on top of the other, facing each other as if they were chatting--before printing out a picture and helping Harry clean the gel off his bump.

"I'm going to have Amy set up an IV for you," Dr. Walsh explained. "After about an hour or so, if your vitals seem okay, I'll release you."

"That sounds great," Niall remarked.

"Thanks, Doctor," Harry told her gratefully. "Sorry to have taken up your time again."

She shook her head firmly. "No apologies. It's my job. I'm glad there wasn't much I needed to do this time."

Harry nodded his profound agreement. "Thanks."

Before leaving Harry's cubicle, the doctor promised to check in an hour later, then Amy made quick work out of setting Harry up on an IV. It wasn't long before Harry, Niall, and Louis were alone to wait out the sixty minutes.

Niall declared he was in need of some caffeine and offered to get some for Louis, too, along with some water for Harry. He set off in search of a café, leaving Louis and Harry alone together once again.

"So, how are you feeling?" Louis asked, using a foot to drag over a nearby stool to sit down on.

Harry moved to caress his belly one more time, and Louis could tell he was really considering Louis' query. "I'm better, I think," he finally answered.

Louis smiled. "Good."

Impulsively, Harry reached out for Louis' hand, squeezing it tightly. "Thank you, Louis."

As a blush crept up his cheeks, Louis protested, "I didn't really do much."

"Yes, you did," Harry countered. "You took care of me, you got me to the hospital, you stayed with me while I was getting checked. I…. I really appreciate it."

Louis squeezed Harry's hand back. "I'm glad everything's okay, both with you and with the babies."

Since he hadn't let Louis go just yet, it was easy for Harry to take Louis' hand and place it on the top of his stomach. "I think the contractions have stopped. They're just kicking now, like they do twenty times a day."

It wasn't too hard to make out the tiny kicks underneath his palm. Louis was still getting used to the idea that the two little lives Harry was growing also belonged to him. It felt a little more real every day, especially when he got such tangible proof. "They feel good and strong."

"Good and strong," Harry echoed, smiling warmly.

Niall chose that moment to reappear, balancing two hot cups of tea and one bottle of water. "The nurses let me have some from their own stash!"

Louis reluctantly removed his hand from Harry's bump to take his cup of tea and the bottle of water off Niall's hands, passing the latter over to Harry.

Niall settled onto the other stool in the cubicle with his own tea, opening the lid to blow on the hot liquid inside. "So, how are we doing in here?"

Louis and Harry shared a look, after which Louis hazarded a guess. "I think we're doing well." He raised his eyebrows at Harry, making sure his guess wasn't too far off the mark.

Harry nodded, agreeing with Louis' assessment. "We are. We're doing just fine." After a beat, he added, "All four of us."

 _All four of us_. These words should probably have frightened Louis, but for the very first time since he'd found out Harry was pregnant with his children, he wasn't. He smiled back at Harry. "All four of us."

_HARRY_

There wasn't a time Harry could remember when he hadn't one day wanted to be pregnant. Now that he was entering his seventh month carrying twins, however, he was beginning to question that wish. He felt about the same size as a whale, and it was getting harder and harder to do everyday things.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the hyperemesis gravidarum wasn't letting up at all. He was still sick most days, and he'd had several bouts of Braxton Hicks since the first, too. He was truly looking forward to delivering the babies and getting his body back.

Harry's birthday was a very quiet affair. His mum and Robin came down from Cheshire for the occasion, and Gemma, Liam and Niall came over for the evening, and they, along with Louis, had a lovely catered dinner. Niall had been put in charge of the cake, and he had chosen a divine angel food cake with chocolate and strawberries. Having all the people he loved around him made turning twenty-two relatively painless.

A few days past his birthday found Harry alone at home for the first time in a long while. Niall was with Liam at a meeting with Modest, while Louis had offered to go do some grocery shopping at the Tesco just down the road. He had decided it was high time to start doing his part to maintain the household, and he really needed to get used to going out and dealing with the occasional fan.

Harry chose to use his time alone to catch up on his online activities. He checked Tumblr (the fans were absolutely right, he did have an account with which he trolled various "Larry Stylinson" blogs) and Twitter before deciding to do some judicious self-Googling.

There wasn't much to find on that front beyond speculation about whether or not One Direction really would go on tour again after the twins were born or treatises about his pregnancy, so he moved on and Googled Louis' name.

The third article on the list--from _The Sun_ 's website--was entitled "Is Louis Tomlinson Suffering From Amnesia?" Harry's heart stopped. The press hadn't been told more than that Louis had sustained a mild head injury in the car accident. If someone had blabbed that it was really much, much worse, the media would have a field day.

Harry knew he should leave it alone, but he couldn't help it. He clicked on the link.

**_Is Louis Tomlinson Suffering From Amnesia?_ **

**Five months ago, we reported that One Direction's Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were involved in a serious car accident. At the time, we were assured that Harry had only sustained bumps and bruises and though Louis had suffered a head injury, it was not a serious one.**

**Since that time, it's been revealed that Harry is pregnant with Louis' twins. It turns out that those Larry Stylinson rumours were based on some fact after all. The babies are due in May, and Harry and Louis appear to be in nesting mode in their shared north London home.**

**_The Sun_ has learned, however, that the injury Louis received in the September car accident was far more severe than originally reported. According to a nurse who asked to remain anonymous, Louis' head injury has resulted in retrograde amnesia, and he has no memory of anything since the first part of 2010. He does not remember being on _The X-Factor_ , and he does not remember being a member of One Direction. Most tragically, he does not remember a moment of his relationship with Harry Styles.**

**A source close to the Tomlinson family states that it has not been an easy road to recovery for Louis. Though he initially went home with Harry, he did not stay there long, instead choosing to return to the people he remembered--his family. Our source says Louis rekindled his relationship with his high school sweetheart during the time in which he was living at home and, by all accounts, appeared happy.**

**Louis is now living once again with Harry in the home they purchased together. It is unclear why this change occurred, only that it did. The questions this reporter has: Was Louis pressured into moving back in with Harry because Harry is pregnant? Will these babies have parents who are in love or parents who are together because they think they should be?**

**If that weren't enough (and it's plenty), the fate of One Direction appears to hang in the balance. If Louis doesn't remember the music or the lyrics, what part can he actually play in the band's scheduled summer tour? Does he even want to be in the band anymore?**

**_The Sun_ promises to stay on top of this story and report the events as they happen. We leave you to return to your regularly scheduled Tomlinson-Styles Baby Watch with, perhaps, your heart not quite as light.**

Harry felt his stomach turn as he read the last words of the article. Was he doing that? Was he putting pressure on Louis to stay? To be there for him? He didn't want Louis to be there out of pity. He wanted Louis to be there because he wanted to be there. Because he cared about Harry and the twins.

By the time Louis arrived home with the groceries, Harry had worked himself up into quite a state.

"Hey, Harry!" Louis called into the lounge as he walked into the kitchen with an impressive number of Tesco bags for one trip.

"Hey," Harry returned. "Can you come in here when you're done unloading the groceries?"

Louis stopped his forward motion to meet Harry's gaze. "Of course. Anything wrong?"

"I hope not," Harry replied.

The cryptic answer made Louis raise an eyebrow, but he said, "Okay," then headed off to put up the food.

It seemed to Harry an extraordinarily long time before Louis reappeared. He carried two mugs in his hand, passing one of them off to Harry. "It's the herbal, just how you like it."

Harry took the mug--his favourite rainbow one--with a "Thank you." He sat up just a bit straighter to sip at it. Since moving back in, Louis had definitely gotten the hang of making Harry's tea just right.

Louis sat down in the easy chair adjacent to the couch to sip from his own mug--one with a dog on it he'd gotten from his sister Phoebe ages ago. "So, what's up?"

Harry took one more drink of tea, then pulled in a deep breath before posing his question. "Why are you here?"

Louis shook his head with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you back here?" Harry tried to clarify, though he was also pretty confused by what he thought might be going on.

"Here?" Louis echoed. "You mean back here living with you?"

Harry nodded.

Louis continued to look a little perplexed by the conversation, but he answered Harry's question nonetheless. "I told you, I want to be here for you and the babies."

"But why?" Harry persisted. Off another shake of Louis' head, he went on. "Why do you want to do that? Do you feel guilty? Sorry for me?"

"No," Louis insisted firmly. "Even though I don't remember us, I care for you a great deal. And those babies…they're mine. Ours. I want to be here to raise them with you."

"Are you sure?" Harry checked anxiously.

"Where is all this coming from?" Louis inquired. "Did Niall say something?"

It was Harry who shook his head this time. He retrieved his iPad from the coffee table and pulled up the article he'd read while Louis was gone, then thrust it in Louis' direction.

Louis put down his tea to take the iPad. As he read through the article, Harry watched him grow paler and paler.

Dropping the iPad into his lap, Louis swore. "Fuck. Harry, I am not here because anyone pressured me to, unless I count."

"You're sure?" Harry repeated his earlier query.

"I'm positive. I promise. I'm here because I want to be." He paused a moment before asking his own question. "Do you want me here?"

Harry nodded instantly. "Absolutely. I just don't want you to be here thinking you have to be."

Louis shook his head once more. "I'm not. This is my choice. There's no place else I'd rather be." He stood to take the few steps needed to seat himself right next to Harry. He placed a gentle hand on Harry's belly. "I'm here to stay for as long as the three of you will have me."

Covering Louis' hand with his own, curling his fingers around Louis' palm, Harry heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you, Louis."

They sat in silence for just a few moments before Louis spoke again. "I don't know about you, but I am exhausted. Grocery shopping is, as it turns out, completely exhausting."

Harry chuckled. "So is growing twins."

"So, what do you think about a nap?"

"I think a nap is a fine idea."

Louis pulled his hand out from under Harry's just long enough to stand up. He reached, then, to reclaim Harry's hand, helping him up. "Let's go, then. Time's a-wasting."

Harry's heart was as light as a feather as he followed Louis up the stairs and into the bedroom they'd shared--platonically--ever since Louis had returned home. Fuck _The Sun_.

_LOUIS_

It was late in February--March nearly upon them--when Louis awoke in the dead of night to find Harry sitting up stock still next to him, panting heavily, one hand on each side of his almost-eight-month belly.

"Harry?" Louis asked, placing his hand on the top of Harry's back. "You okay?"

Harry shook his head violently. "I don't think so. Something's wrong."

Any last vestiges of sleep clinging to Louis dropped away instantly. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

With a stifled sob, Harry explained, "I thought it would go away, but it hasn't."

"What is it, Harry? Pain?" Louis attempted to get to the root of the problem.

"Sharp," Harry confirmed. "And they're not moving. They should be moving." He began to cry in earnest after revealing this.

Louis threw the duvet off his lower half. "I'm going to wake Niall, then we're going to hospital."

He didn't wait for Harry to respond. Instead, he raced out the door and down the hall to the guest room, knocking on the door in a cursory fashion before bursting into the room. He stopped right at the head of the bed. "Niall!"

Niall shot up as if he'd been electrocuted. "What?!"

"It's Harry. Something's wrong with the babies," Louis filled him in quickly. "We need to get him to hospital. Now."

To his credit, Niall didn't question Louis. He just jumped out of bed and climbed into the clothes he'd dropped on the floor the night before. "Let's go, then."

Louis nodded and led the way back across the hall and into his and Harry's bedroom. Harry was sitting exactly where Louis had left him. When Louis sidled up next to him and put his hand once again on Harry's back, Harry jumped and turned to gaze up at Louis, eyes glistening with tears.

"C'mon, Harry," Louis said, pitching his voice low and soothing. "We're going to hospital now."

"Louis, what if they're dead?" Harry was clearly struggling to hold it together and not succeeding very well. He switched his gaze to Niall. "What if I did something to them?"

As another broken sob escaped Harry's mouth, Niall spoke firmly. "You have done nothing but take the best care of those two little ones. Now, let's get you up and dressed so we can go have everything checked out."

It took Niall and Louis' combined effort to get Harry up and clad in some joggers and a loose sweatshirt. They wasted no time, then, in heading down to Niall's car. Louis still couldn't drive, and Harry was, of course, in no state to.

Louis sat in the back with Harry, unconcerned about allowing Niall to play chauffeur. While Niall drove at top speeds--aided by the three a.m. hour--Louis held Harry's hand and assured him that everything would be okay. Even if Louis had no idea whether or not that was true.

They pulled up to the way-too-familiar A&E entrance, and Niall let Louis help Harry out, saying he'd meet them inside as soon as he parked the car.

The moment they stepped foot inside A&E, Louis supporting a still crying Harry, Louis called for help. It took a second, but a nurse eventually appeared with a wheelchair. "What's going on?" she inquired crisply as Louis eased Harry into the chair. If she recognised either of them, she was professional enough not to let on.

"He's seven months pregnant with twins, and woke up less than an hour ago with sharp pains, and he says the babies aren't moving," Louis related what he knew to her. "They're usually pretty active at night."

Harry screamed out as another pain washed over him, tears racing down his cheeks. He clutched at his stomach and looked up at first Louis, then the nurse. "It hurts," he told them, though the clarification was unnecessary.

"Let's get you into a cubicle and see what's going on," the nurse said calmly. She steered the wheelchair into a nearby examination area, and Niall came running in as Louis and the nurse were helping Harry onto a cot.

"Is Dr. Walsh here? She's treated him before." Niall sidled past the nurse to get next to Harry.

"I believe she is. I'll check straight away," the nurse replied. To Harry, she added, "Stay calm and try some deep breaths. I'll be right back." She left, then, without another word, stopping only to close the privacy curtain.

Harry was still crying softly, even as he tried to follow the nurse's directions and pull in deep breaths. Louis grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly. "It's all going to be okay, Harry."

Harry looked up at Louis again. "How can you be sure?"

Louis shrugged. "I just feel it." And he did. He didn't think Harry was meant to make it this far, with all the sickness and the angst over Louis' memory, only to lose the babies.

"Is the pain still really bad, Haz?" Niall wondered aloud.

Harry had opened his mouth to answer when a stab of pain must have struck because the strength of Harry's grip on Louis' hand tightened, and Harry sucked in a shout. When the moment was over, he levelled his gaze on Niall and gave a curt nod.

Niall offered a sympathetic smile at the exact same second in which Dr. Walsh strode into the cubicle, the nurse who'd gone to find her right behind.

"Mr. Styles," she greeted him, clearly recognising him. "What seems to be going on tonight?"

Louis could see Harry pulling himself together enough to explain, "I woke up with pains in my stomach. And the babies have stopped moving. They're usually up most of the night." Tears began rolling down his cheeks again as he listed his symptoms.

"You're how far along, again? Twenty-nine, thirty weeks?" she attempted to recall the exact timing.

"Thirty weeks," Harry reported.

Dr. Walsh nodded acknowledgement of all Harry had said. "Okay, let's get an ultrasound in here to see what's going on." She looked over to the nurse, who immediately left the cubicle to get the machine Louis, Niall and, especially, Harry were familiar with. When she turned back to Harry, she said, "You need to calm down. This could be any number of things, and you're here now, so we can do whatever needs to be done right away."

Harry nodded, though the look on his face told Louis Harry was still incredibly tense. Until he found out what was wrong, Harry was not likely to calm down. Louis couldn't blame him. He was feeling pretty tense himself. He didn't know what he'd do if something were really wrong with either Harry or their babies.

The nurse reappeared with the machine Dr. Walsh had ordered, and the doctor wasted no time in urging Harry to lift his shirt so she could slather some gel on his belly and push her wand around to figure out just what was happening. It took her an extra minute to find the babies, since Harry suffered from another sharp pain as she was still searching for the best angle to check on the little ones.

When she didn't say anything to assure them as quickly as he'd clearly hoped, Harry used a tight voice to ask, "Are they okay?"

"They are, for now." Harry barely had time to sigh in relief before she went on. "Harry, it's as I thought it might be. I believe you're in labour. The babies appear to be moving into the delivery position."

Harry shook his head violently. "I can't be in labour. I'm not due until May."

"You can stop labour, can't you?" Louis interjected, remembering his mother's many stories from her days as a midwife.

Harry looked up at Louis as if grateful Louis had this idea, then shifted his gaze to the doctor to see what her response was.

"I want to put a foetal monitor on and do an internal exam. In certain instances, there are drugs which can postpone labour," Dr. Walsh told them. They hadn't any time to rejoice, though, as she added, "I will warn you, though, that you may have to deliver today. Baby A's head has dropped into a birth position, and if either of the babies is in any distress whatsoever, they'll both need to come out."

"Can they survive at thirty weeks?" Harry posed the million-pound question, and he instantly held his breath while awaiting what she would say. Louis followed suit.

She nodded firmly. "Absolutely. They may have some challenges to work through if they're born this early, but our NICU is one of the best in the country, and they've sent home healthy babies born even earlier than this."

Harry exhaled the breath he'd been holding slowly, while Louis did the same. When another pain overcame him, Harry reached for Louis' hand and squeezed.

When the pain had passed, Dr. Walsh looked Harry in the eye and said, "I'm going to have Sarah here get you set up in a private exam room. She's going to hook you up to a foetal monitor, and I'll be up as soon as you're settled to do an internal exam."

"Okay." Harry sucked in a deep breath and let it out raggedly.

The doctor placed a hand on Harry's forearm. "Try to relax. Everything's under control."

"I'll try," he promised.

Dr. Walsh left the cubicle, and two more nurses took her place. Between the two newcomers and Sarah, Harry's bump was cleaned off, and his cot was guided out of the cubicle and down the hall to the lifts. Louis and Niall were allowed to follow the procession, and in no time, Harry was situated in an exam room in the Maternity/Paternity Ward.

Harry had had what was probably another contraction, been changed into a hospital gown, and gotten fitted with a foetal monitor when Dr. Walsh joined them once again. "Let's check on how your babies are doing."

Louis felt as nervous as Harry looked as they both watched the doctor pore over the foetal monitor readout. She frowned, and Louis' heart took a nosedive into his stomach. He could hear Harry's whimper at her expression, and he grabbed Harry's hand, squeezing tight.

Dr. Walsh finally met first Louis' gaze, then Harry's. "I'm concerned that the babies seem to be in distress. Their heartbeats are irregular and slower than I'd like, and that probably explains why they haven't been moving as much this evening. I want to do a quick internal exam, but I want you to start preparing yourselves for the possibility that we may need to do an emergency caesarean section."

Louis had almost forgotten Niall was there when he asked in a quiet voice, "Should I leave?"

"That's up to Harry," the doctor told him kindly.

"Stay?" Harry requested. "Please?"

Niall was swift to nod. "Absolutely." He stayed rooted to the spot he'd chosen by Harry's head.

Dr. Walsh lifted the sheets and blankets from the bottom part of the bed and ordered Harry to bend and spread his legs so she could check out what was going on inside. She made sure to keep the sheets hanging on top of his knees for privacy as she performed her exam.

Harry squirmed as she felt around inside him, absently tightening his grip on Louis' hand. Louis didn't mind. He couldn't imagine what Harry was going through.

The doctor shook her head as she withdrew her hands. "You're fully effaced and dilated, Harry. I don't think there's any going back at this point. I don't want to risk having you deliver naturally when the babies are in any kind of distress. I think we need to get you into surgery immediately to get those babies out."

Harry choked back a sob at her conclusion. Louis took it upon himself to double check. "You sure they'll be okay this early?"

"I have confidence that they'll have a good chance. If we can get them out soon," Dr. Walsh qualified her statement. She looked to Louis, then Niall. "Gentlemen, one of you can come in with Harry, but only one."

Louis barely had time for a breath before Niall insisted, "You go, Lou. I'll call everyone and let them know what's happening."

"Call my mum and Gemma?" Harry pleaded.

"First on my list," Niall promised, holding up his phone for good measure. He wished Harry "Good luck," then took off to find a quiet room in which to make his calls.

"Now that's settled, let's get you prepped for surgery." These words sent the nurses who had settled Harry into action.

Louis was gently pushed aside so the nurses could do their job, getting Harry ready while Louis was left to put on some scrubs and pray Harry and the babies would be okay. They had to be. They had been through too much in the last six months not to be.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later found Louis being guided into a surgical room. He had no idea what time of day it was anymore, nor did he really care. All he cared about was Harry, who lay on the table in the centre of the room, a curtain draped over his chest, blocking his view of what Dr. Walsh and her team were doing.

Louis reached for Harry's hand, and Harry turned tear-filled eyes up at him. "Louis, if something happens--"

Cutting Harry off with a firm shake of his head, Louis told him, "Nothing is going to happen."

"How can you be so sure?" Harry inquired in an incredulous voice, much as he had the first time Louis had been so unnaturally certain.

Louis shrugged. "I don't really know. But we need to think positive, yeah?" He squeezed Harry's hand in a way he hoped came across as supportive. He was as scared as Harry looked, but Harry didn't need to know that.

"Okay, gentlemen, I think we're ready to deliver some babies," Dr. Walsh announced.

Harry squeezed Louis' hand hard enough that Louis was concerned bones might be broken, but he did nothing to dislodge Harry's grasp. If this was what Harry needed….

"Can you feel this, Harry?" Louis watched as the doctor pressed the tip of her scalpel into the skin at the top of Harry's swollen belly.

"No," Harry told her.

"Epidural's in full effect, then. Ready to go, gentlemen?"

Louis checked with Harry, who nodded minutely. Louis nodded to the doctor on the behalf of both of them.

Louis kept his eyes on Harry for the next couple of minutes, giving Harry something to focus on, until Dr. Walsh announced, "Here's Baby A. It's a boy!"

The nurse who was keeping track of Harry's vitals lowered the screen at Harry's midsection so Harry and Louis could look at their son.

Louis gasped. The baby was so tiny. He had dark hair and a scrunched-up face. He was clearly a fighter, though. He was mewling softly and flailing his fists wildly as Dr. Walsh handed him over to a waiting nurse who immediately carried him from the room.

"Is he okay? Where are they taking him?" Harry asked worriedly. "Can't I hold him?"

"They're going to take him to the NICU to check him out," the doctor explained. "As soon as you're recovered enough from the surgery, we'll get you right up to see your babies."

The nurse who had lowered the screen raised it again.

Louis and Harry only had to wait a few more minutes for Dr. Walsh to proclaim, "And here's Baby B. It's a girl!"

When Harry's nurse lowered the screen once again, Harry and Louis got a glimpse of their daughter. Like her brother, she had a cap of dark hair and a fierce anger at having been removed from her warm, cosy home. Her cry was as soft as her twin's as another nurse carted her off in the same direction as her sibling had been.

"You'll get to see them soon," the doctor vowed. "I just need to finish up here."

The screen once again blocked their view of what Dr. Walsh was doing. Now that the surgery was almost over, Harry looked up to Louis again. "Go find Niall? Tell him the babies are here?"

Louis nodded. "Of course." He was just about to go fulfill Harry's request when he was compelled to say, "You did great, Harry."

Harry smiled wanly, obviously exhausted by recent events. "Thanks." He paused for just a moment. "And thanks for staying with me."

"Nowhere else I'd rather have been."

* * *

By the time Harry was wheeled into a private room after spending an hour in the recovery room Gemma and Liam had arrived with the news that Anne was on her way; luckily, she was already in London to meet up with some old school friends, so it wouldn't take her long to get to the hospital. Robin would have to come all the way from Cheshire, so it would be a while longer before he got there.

The nurses got Harry settled into the bed, then left him alone with his friends and his sister. Gemma stationed herself right up where she could take her brother's hand, and the others filled in around where Harry lay.

"How are you feeling, H?" Gemma inquired, the depth of her concern obvious in her voice.

"A little woozy and a lot exhausted," he replied. As if he'd just remembered something, he pushed himself up a little off the bed. "Are they okay? Are the babies all right? When can I see them?"

Niall, who stood opposite Gemma, placed a firm hand on Harry's shoulder. "They're fine. The doctor was in while you were still in recovery. She said they're small and have some issues, but they're holding their own. She said she'd be back to check on you, and as soon as she clears you, you can go up to see them."

Harry was clearly frustrated, but he settled back into the pillows.

"Hey, H? Do you know what the date is?" Liam jumped into the conversation.

Harry shook his head, and now he thought about it, Louis didn't quite remember the date either. It was so easy to lose track when each day was similar to the last.

"It's the twenty-ninth of February. Leap Day," Liam informed them with a warm smile. "That's gotta be lucky, right? Being born on a day that only happens every four years?"

Harry smiled for the first time since they'd gone to bed the night before. "That does seem like a lucky day. What do you think, Louis?"

Louis nodded. "They must be very special indeed to have such a unique birthday."

Anne and Dr. Walsh appeared at almost the exact same moment, nearly bumping into each other as they approached the door. The doctor very graciously allowed Harry's mother to enter the room first.

Anne made a beeline for Harry's side, Gemma making room for her. For his part, Harry immediately began to cry when he laid eyes on her. As best she could while he was in a hospital bed, she hugged him. "Oh, baby, it's all going to be okay," Louis heard her whisper.

Dr. Walsh was kind enough to give Harry and Anne a couple minutes to connect, using the time to grab Harry's chart from the end of the bed and check it for anything that might have been done since she was last there.

When Anne let Harry go, she asked, "How are you feeling, darling?"

He gave her virtually the same report he'd given Gemma. "Woozy. Exhausted. Oh, and sore," he added. "The epidural's almost all worn off."

"How about my beautiful grandchildren?" Anne went on.

"You haven't even seen them yet," Harry countered. "How do you know they're beautiful?"

"They came from you and Louis," Anne told him. "How could they be anything less than beautiful?"

Louis turned to appraise Dr. Walsh, who was just putting Harry's chart back on the hook at the end of the bed. "May we go see them now, Doctor?"

"Give Harry and I a moment, then we can talk about that," the doctor responded.

Niall, Liam, and Gemma all moved to step out of the room, then Louis and Anne moved to follow.

"Wait!" Harry called. He turned his gaze to Dr. Walsh. "Can my mum and Louis stay?"

"I'm just going to be checking on your incision and doing a quick internal to make sure everything's coming along as it should. If you're comfortable with them being here while I do that, I don't mind if they stay," she said, no doubt used to patients who didn't want to be alone after an emergency birth.

"Will you stay?" Harry asked, looking from Anne to Louis, then back to Anne.

"Of course, sweetheart," Anne assured him.

Louis nodded his own agreement. "Absolutely."

Anne and Louis stationed themselves up by Harry's head, and Dr. Walsh made her examination quick and discreet. When she was done she declared, "Everything looks great. The incision is in great shape and your body seems to be adjusting nicely to post-labour."

"So I can go see my babies?" Harry clarified.

She nodded. "You still need to take it easy, but yes. Only you and Louis can go inside the NICU for now, but your family and friends can look at the babies from outside. All right?"

"Yes." Harry's voice was a bit brighter now he had the all clear to see the twins.

"I'll get the nurse to get a wheelchair, then I'll go up with you and introduce you to the NICU doctor in charge of your little ones," Dr. Walsh told him.

"Thank you," Harry intoned seriously. "For everything. I'm so glad you were here last night."

The doctor smiled widely. "I'm glad, too. Now, let's go get that wheelchair."

Louis went out to tell the others what the plan was, and by the time he was done, the nurse was there to guide Harry into a wheelchair, and they began their small procession toward the NICU.

When they arrived at their destination, Dr. Walsh directed Niall, Liam, Gemma, and Anne to the window where they would eventually be able to view the newborn babies, then she led Harry and Louis inside the actual NICU and right up to a young doctor who was tending to a baby in an incubator.

"Dr. Goddard?" The young female doctor lifted her gaze from her charge to Dr. Walsh. "I'd like to introduce Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson."

"Baby Boy Styles and Baby Girl Styles' dad? Dads?" she questioned.

"Dads," Louis answered firmly before Harry could even open his mouth.

"I'm sure you're anxious to see how they're doing." Dr. Goddard smiled warmly.

"I leave you in capable hands, gentlemen," Dr. Walsh said. "I'll be in every once in a while to check on you while you're here, Harry, but in the meantime, don't hesitate to contact me."

Louis dispensed the gratitude this time around, and then Dr. Walsh took off to tend to other patients.

"Right this way," the NICU doctor urged them down an aisle lined with isolettes, some containing tiny babies, some empty. Louis followed the doctor, and the nurse who had brought the wheelchair continued to push Harry in it behind Louis.

After what felt to Louis an age, they finally arrived at two side-by-side isolettes. One held a tiny baby with a blue hat on, the other another tiny baby with a pink hat on. They were each hooked up to some machinery, which was a little scary and made them look so very fragile, but they looked just as Niall had said, like they were holding their own.

"Are they okay?" Harry inquired, looking up at Dr. Goddard.

She nodded. "They're small, each about three pounds, and they need a little help breathing, but otherwise, they're in relatively good shape for 30 week babies."

"Can we hold them?" Harry's voice was as hopeful as Louis had ever heard it.

The doctor smiled and nodded. "Yes. As you can see, there are some tubes to juggle, but it's good for them to get some Daddy time. It's best, even, if you can do it skin-to-skin. Best kind of warmth there is for them."

The nurse in charge of Harry's chair pushed it close to the isolette holding his and Louis' son. Once he was close, Harry was able to reach out a finger to stroke the tiny boy's cheek. "Hi, baby boy." Louis could see tears in the corners of Harry's eyes, even as he felt some in his own.

With help from Louis, Harry lowered the top of his hospital gown, then the doctor helped lift the small baby onto Harry's chest, arranging the tubes helping him to breathe and the ones obviously monitoring his heart rate. Louis squatted down right next to Harry, positioning himself so he was eye level with the newborn.

Harry couldn't take his eyes off the baby's face, and Louis couldn't take his eyes off of Harry's face as he held his son for the first time. It was an amazing sight.

"He's beautiful," the nurse commented from behind Harry. "Does he have a name?"

Harry looked up and met Louis' gaze.

"Have you thought of anything?" Louis wondered aloud.

With a nod, Harry confessed, "I have."

Louis smiled softly. "Let's hear it."

"I thought of these before you moved back in." Harry's words sounded like a warning. Louis took it to mean that the names Harry had thought about had nothing to do with Louis.

"That sounds fair," Louis assured hum. "I wasn't there when I should have been."

"But you're here now," Harry pointed out.

"I know I'll love whatever names you chose," Louis said, deadly serious. "So, don't keep us in suspense."

Audibly, Harry swallowed. "James Desmond. James for Niall and Liam and Desmond for my dad. I thought we could call him Jamie."

"James for Niall and Liam?" Louis was confused how that tracked.

"Niall James and Liam James," Harry explained, filling in yet another gap in Louis' memory.

With a grin, Louis exclaimed, "Perfect!" He reached a finger out to gently run it down the baby's small arm. "Hi, Jamie." Jamie turned his gaze in Louis' direction. Louis knew from experience that the baby couldn't actually focus on Louis, but it was pretty clear that Jamie knew Louis' voice.

"Do you want to hold him?" Harry invited.

Louis hesitated for the briefest of moments before nodding and standing upright.

"Should I do the skin-to-skin thing, too?" he questioned the doctor.

The doctor nodded, so Louis grabbed a nearby chair, yanked off his sweatshirt, and sat down.

Dr. Goddard lifted Jamie from Harry's chest and placed him carefully onto Louis'. Louis felt a rush of love overcome him as he held his little boy for the first time. "He's amazing," he said, looking down at Harry. "So so amazing."

After the boys had loved on Jamie for a few more minutes, the doctor asked, "Would you like to give your little girl a turn?"

Harry and Louis nodded in tandem, and the doctor took Jamie from Louis, laying him back inside his isolette. Once the nurse had resituated all of Jamie's tubes, she turned to the neighbouring isolette.

Harry's nurse slotted Harry's chair right up next to the isolette, and Dr. Goddard did the same as she'd done with Jamie, gently handing Harry their daughter to lay on his chest and making sure none of her equipment was compromised.

Louis squatted down again to get a good look at the baby girl. "Just as beautiful as her brother," he remarked.

"She feels even tinier than he did," Harry commented worriedly. He cradled her as if she might be made from spun glass.

"She's fine," the doctor reassured him. "She'll just need to gain a little weight. Both of them will."

Louis stretched out a finger to caress the newborn's cheek. "She'll be a fighter. All that kicking…."

Harry chuckled. "That's the truth."

"So, what name were you thinking for our little footie player, then?" Louis continued to stroke their baby girl's face and like her brother had, she shifted her gaze in Louis' direction. He smiled down at her. "Hi, love. Hi there."

Harry paused for a few seconds of thought, then answered Louis' question. "Annabelle Robin, after Mum and Robin."

"A name as pretty as she is," Louis approved, adding, "Did you have a nickname in mind for her, too? Anne? Annie?"

"Actually, I was thinking Ella," Harry informed him. "Is that okay?"

"Jamie and Ella," Louis tried out the names for size. "I think that sounds just right."

"What do you want them to call you?" Harry posed his own query.

They hadn't really had a chance to discuss how they wanted the twins to refer to them. They'd imagined they had plenty of time to make that decision. Louis had thought about it, though. "I was hoping it would be okay for them to call me Papa."

Harry grinned. "That's what you always said you'd want to be called when we had kids."

"I did?" Louis guessed he shouldn't actually have been surprised he and Harry had discussed this, given how much Louis had always loved kids, and it was clear Harry had, too.

With a nod, Harry expounded, "You said you wanted to be Papa, and I should be Daddy."

"Then let's go with that," Louis declared. He looked down at their newborn daughter. "Hi Ella."

"Do you want a little time with Papa?" Harry asked the baby.

When Ella contentedly sighed, Harry took that as a 'yes,' and Dr. Goddard shifted the baby from Harry's chest onto Louis'.

"Our family and friends are outside," Harry told the doctor as Louis bonded with their baby girl. "They really hoped for a look at the babies."

"It's difficult to get the isolettes up to the window while the babies are connected to these machines, but if they wanted to come in for just a minute, I could let the rules slide just this once," Dr. Goddard replied.

Harry's nurse went to fetch the crew waiting outside the NICU, and while she did, the doctor got Jamie back in Harry's arms.

Mere minutes later, Anne, Gemma, Niall, and Liam were introduced to Jamie and Ella, and it was instant love.

As Louis held his baby girl in his arms, he looked around at all of the happy faces of people who couldn't wait to get to know the twins and help take care of them. Tiny they may have been, but Jamie and Ella were incredibly lucky to have all of these people in their lives. And though Louis had forgotten meeting any of them, Louis felt lucky to have them in his life, too.

_HARRY_

Everyone eventually left. Anne and Gemma to a hotel for some mother/daughter time, Liam and Niall back to their homes, and Louis to his and Harry's house for some much-needed sleep.

Harry was more exhausted than he'd ever been in his life. More exhausted than he was after each of One Direction's tours, and more exhausted than after the accident when his world was turned upside down. That being said, he couldn't sleep.

He tossed and turned as much as his surgical scar would allow for more than an hour before he gave up and slowly eased himself out of his hospital bed. He hissed at the pain in his lower abdomen, but the doctor had told him it was okay to try walking, as long as he didn't go too far too fast.

As directed, then, Harry made his way up to the NICU at a moderate pace despite his intense need to see Jamie and Ella again.

Dr. Goddard was still there when Harry stopped at the NICU entrance to ask if he could see his babies. She greeted him warmly and told him he was welcome at any time. She introduced him to a nurse called Maggie. Maggie placed a rocking chair in between the twins' isolettes, then lifted Ella--whose isolette was a little closer--into his arms. She excused herself to tend to the other NICU babies, giving Harry his first private time with the babies.

Ella weighed so little, it felt like he wasn't holding much of anything at all. Her eyes were closed, and her tiny fists were curled right up under her chin, while her breathing tube made her chest rise and fall in a rhythmic fashion as she slept. A wee yellow cap covered her head. Even as small as it was, Harry already thought Ella had Louis' nose.

He turned his gaze over to the isolette in which Jamie lay. Like his sister, Jamie had a breathing tube, though the hat keeping his head warm was a pale green. Harry took a moment to appreciate the change from the pink and blue they'd been wearing before, then he leaned in closer to Jamie to check out his nose. Definitely Louis', too.

As Harry was watching him, Jamie woke up and scrunched up his little face, squirming his tiny body as much as all his equipment would allow. Harry called out for Maggie, and she came right over.

"Looks like his breathing tube is in an uncomfortable position," Maggie explained as she did some adjusting.

"Is he in pain?" Harry asked worriedly, trying to be careful not to jostle the sleeping Ella as he tried to keep an eye on Jamie.

Maggie didn't answer for a moment, but once Jamie visibly relaxed, she replied, "I think he was just for a moment there. He's fine now." She expertly checked Ella's tubes without removing her from Harry's hold, then left him alone with the babies once again.

Harry bent over and put his mouth as close to Ella's ears as he could get it. "I'm so so sorry," he whispered. He straightened and leaned toward where Jamie lay to repeat his sentiment. "So so sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" The soft voice from behind him made him jump. Ella jumped a little when he did, and Harry stilled for a short time and let her settle before he looked back over his shoulder to find a sheepish Louis standing there. He'd changed clothes, and his hair was damp, but the bags that had been under his eyes when he'd said good night a few hours earlier were still there, a dark contrast to his pale cheeks.

"Louis?"

"I couldn't sleep," Louis explained. "Not when all of you were here. What are you sorry for?"

Harry could feel the heat crawling up his neck and into his cheeks. His breath shuddered. Finally, he whispered, "For not keeping them inside me longer."

Louis moved closer and kneeled right in front of Harry, much as he'd done on their first NICU visit. He placed his hand on Harry's forearm and didn't speak until Harry looked right into his eyes. Louis pitched his voice low and firm to declare, "This is not your fault."

Harry was trying hard not to burst into tears, and he choked down a few sobs before regaining control of himself, though that didn't happen without a few tears escaping to run down his cheeks.

"It's not your fault," Louis repeated, raising his eyebrows in a way which asked Harry if he took Louis' meaning.

"Look at them, Louis," Harry urged, unable to take any solace from Louis' assertion. "They barely weigh three pounds, they can't breathe on their own, and I can't even hold them without all these tubes."

"The doctor said they're going to be fine," Louis reminded him. "They just need a little time."

"But what if it was me?" Harry persisted on going down his path of self-recrimination. "What if it was me being sick all the time?"

"Didn't you tell me the doctor said that wouldn't affect the babies?" Louis countered.

Harry nodded reluctantly.

"Harry, you need to stop blaming yourself," Louis insisted. "It isn't helping them."

"But--"

Louis violently shook his head. "But nothing. You need to stop."

Harry pulled in a deep breath, then reluctantly nodded.

With a satisfied smile, Louis patted Harry's arm, then he stood upright, groaning and holding his lower back. He walked over to Maggie and spoke to her in quietly enough that Harry couldn't hear what he said. When she followed Louis back over and they stopped by Jamie's isolette, Harry guessed he'd asked to hold their baby boy.

Maggie urged Louis to grab the second rocking chair in the room, and Louis pulled it over so he was sitting opposite from Harry when Maggie placed Jamie in his arms.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, cuddling the sleeping babies close.

"They really are beautiful," Louis whispered.

Harry looked from Ella to Jamie to Louis and smiled softly. "They are. Tiny little miracles, just like my mum said. Speaking of which, did you call your mum to tell her the babies were born?"

Louis shook his head. "I guess I will at some point, but I'm not quite ready to share this with her yet. Not after she lied to me."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense. Though for the record, I don't mind her knowing. They're her grandchildren, too."

"Thanks."

"Any time."

"You did such a great job, Harry," Louis went on to say, still speaking in a whisper. "Through all of it. I know it wasn't easy. I know _I_ didn't make it easy."

"Like I said before, you're here now," Harry countered, also using a whisper. "That's all that matters."

Louis offered him another smile. "How are you feeling?"

Harry took a moment to take an inventory of his body, then sighed. "Still exhausted. Still sore."

Louis nodded, then shifted his gaze to look over at Maggie. Harry watched as Louis had some kind of silent conversation with her--something Louis had always been very good at, even with people he didn't know well--that brought her back over to where he and Harry sat with the twins.

"Can you help us lay them back down?" Louis requested.

"Louis--" Harry began to protest. He didn't want to put Ella back. Not yet.

"Harry," Louis interrupted, "you gave birth to two babies less than twenty-four hours ago. You need to rest."

Harry was loath to admit it, but Louis was right. He hauled in a deep breath and gave a resigned nod. "Okay."

"You can come back any time," Maggie interjected. "Go get some rest, then you can come see them in the morning. Later in the morning," she amended.

Harry had forgotten just how late it was. Combined with the recent stressful delivery of the babies, it was no wonder he was so completely wiped out. He lifted Ella up to Maggie, and she gently took her from his arms. She did the same with Jamie, and no sooner were the twins both back in the warmth of their isolettes than Louis was at Harry's side to help him stand.

"Let's get you back to bed."

Harry allowed Louis to help him up, then he assured Louis he was okay to walk on his own. Despite this assertion, Louis stayed close as they slowly made their way out of the NICU and back to Harry's private room. Once there, Louis aided Harry in climbing back into bed, pulling the sheet and blanket up around Harry's middle securely.

"Think you'll be able to sleep?" Louis asked as Harry tried to find a position which didn't disturb his incision too much.

"I hope so." Harry didn't know if all his whirling thoughts would allow him to rest, though. "I'm still…processing. I didn't expect them for two more months."

"I know, but they're fine," Louis reminded him. "They're in really good hands."

"I know," Harry echoed Louis' words. "But what if something happens to them because they were too early? What if they have delays?"

"Then we'll deal with it," Louis said matter-of-factly. "We need to take this one day at a time, yeah?"

Harry nodded. He knew he was borrowing trouble, but he couldn't help it. These were his children, and he didn't want them to travel a difficult road. It was going to be hard enough to be the twins of two famous boy banders without additional challenges.

A hand on his arm kicked him out of his reverie. "One day at a time," Louis repeated. After a beat, he added, "You need to get some sleep."

"Did you get any while you were at home?" Harry inquired.

Louis shook his head. "I tried, but I couldn't turn my brain off."

"Go home. You should get some sleep, too."

"I will, but not at home," Louis stated. "I'm going to see if they have a cot I can use. I want to be here in case you or the babies need me."

"You don't have to do that," Harry protested weakly. He wasn't about to admit it, but he liked the idea of Louis staying.

Louis' hand squeezed Harry's forearm tightly before letting go. "I want to. Now, try to rest."

Harry reached down to pull the sheet and blanket up a little higher, then dutifully closed his eyes. He tried some deep breathing exercises to try to relax his body, and he imagined himself at home in his own bed, Louis beside him, and two healthy babies sleeping in the nursery down the hall.

He vaguely heard the _whoosh whoosh_ sound of wheels which indicated that someone was rolling in a cot for Louis to sleep on. Harry would be eternally grateful for the hospital staff letting Louis stay.

He tried to open his eyes to watch the proceedings, but found he couldn't. He was only able to burrow his head deeper into his pillows and chase some sleep.

He was aware of the lights in the room being dimmed and of Louis climbing into the cot with a creak. After that, he wasn't aware of anything anymore, as he finally found some much-desired rest.

_LOUIS_

"When do you think they'll be able to go home?" Louis asked Dr. Goddard. He held Ella in his arms, while Harry held Jamie.

It was officially March, and the babies were officially a day old--thirty hours old, to be exact. Harry and Louis had both been able to get some sleep and some breakfast, and now they were getting some Twin Time, as Louis had begun to think of it inside his head. Any minute now, their family and friends were due to arrive, so Louis and Harry were using the time to get more information from the babies' doctor about their prognosis.

"Well," the doctor began. "As I know you know, Jamie and Ella were born at thirty weeks. Babies born this early usually do well unless there are big issues. So far, neither of them seems to have anything big going on, and with any luck, it will stay that way."

Harry and Louis both sighed with relief. Louis' wish as he glanced over at Harry was that Harry was feeling a little better about things now that Dr. Goddard was sounding so positive about where the twins were.

The doctor continued, "Usually I tell parents that they should expect to take their babies home right around their original due date, in your case that would be right around the tenth of May."

Louis made some quick calculations…. That was just over two months away. "That's a long time," he commented. "Do they really need to be here that long?"

"Well, there are a few things they need to be able to do before I can comfortably release them," Dr. Goddard explained. "They'll need to be off the ventilators and breathing on their own, they'll need to be drinking from a bottle, they'll need to regulate their body temperature, and they'll need to get their weight right up around five pounds."

Louis and Harry nodded in tandem.

"What do we need to do?" Harry inquired.

Dr. Goddard smiled. "Love them. Encourage them. You'll be a big part of getting them to eat properly, and even though they're small, they can tell you're here, and they'll use your strength to hit those milestones."

"I think we can do that," Louis confirmed, smiling confidently over at Harry.

Harry didn't seem quite as confident as Louis did, but he smiled all the same. Even if all he realised at this point was that the four of them--he, Louis, Jamie, and Ella--were in this together, that was a step in the right direction.

* * *

"Why won't she take it?" Louis asked Dr. Goddard.

He was sat in one of the NICU's rocking chairs with Ella in his arms. Harry was sat in another chair with Jamie in his arms. They'd been working on weaning the four-week-old twins off their IV fluids and onto a bottle for the last few days. It had taken several tries, but Jamie had picked up on how to suck on the bottle's nipple and swallow the formula like a champ. Ella, however, had not.

"Keep trying," the doctor encouraged him. "She'll get there. She just needs a little more time than her brother."

They had found this to be the case with most things, that Ella was just a bit behind where Jamie was. He was the first to be able to be off the respirator for any length of time, the first to gain significant weight, and the first to recover when they both picked up a post-birth infection.

Louis lifted the bottle to Ella's mouth once more, pressing the tip gently into her mouth. Ella, however, had other ideas, and she refused to take the nipple. "Come on, sweetheart," Louis coaxed in a gentle tone. "You can do it." He tried to offer her the bottle again, but again, Ella was having no part of it.

Louis looked over at Jamie, sucking contentedly on the bottle Harry held. "How's he doing?"

Harry smiled softly. "He's doing great."

"She'll get there," Dr. Goddard repeated. "Don't give up on her."

Louis gazed down at Ella's sweet little face. "Never." She looked up in his direction guilelessly. She might face a hard road, but she knew her Daddy and her Papa. She almost never fussed if one of them was holding her. And neither Louis nor Harry could get enough of holding her--or her brother.

Harry was convinced that both of the twins looked like Louis, but Louis saw a lot of Harry in them, too. Not just in the green eyes they both seemed to be growing into, but in their determination. Harry was one of the most determined people Louis had ever known, and he just knew that's where Jamie and Ella got their fight from.

Louis made another attempt to give Ella the bottle--probably not quite as warm as it once had been. She scrunched up her little face for a moment before tentatively opening her mouth and letting Louis guide the tip inside. She let it sit there briefly, getting used to the sensation, no doubt, then she slowly began to suck on it.

"Harry!" Louis whisper-yelled. "Look!"

Harry turned his gaze to where Louis sat, and he beamed when he took in the sight of Ella actually taking the bottle. "That's amazing," he whispered back. "You did it."

"No, this is all her," Louis countered modestly.

"Great job, Louis," Dr. Goddard praised. "Let her drink for a little bit, then you can try to burp her."

Ella ended up finishing about half her bottle to Jamie's two-thirds, but the doctor assured Louis and Harry that Ella was off to a great start, and that Jamie continued to progress nicely.

Once the babies were changed and back in their isolettes to nap, Louis and Harry retreated to the nearby private room where they'd left their things.

Harry had long since been released from hospital--he'd only needed to stay a week--but he and Louis spent a large part of each day in the NICU with the twins, helping with their care and making sure Jamie and Ella knew who they were. Dr. Goddard had told them just how crucial to their development bonding with their fathers was.

Harry collapsed into a chair the minute they entered their room.

"Tired still?" Louis wondered aloud, settling into the seat next to Harry's.

"I am way past tired," Harry told him. "And they aren't even home yet."

"You're worried about them all the time," Louis pointed out. "That's got to be exhausting."

Harry sighed. "They're still so tiny. They forget to breathe. Ella's only just now taking the bottle."

"They get a little bit better every day," Louis countered. "Dr. Goddard seems to think they're doing well, all things considered."

With another sigh, Harry nodded. "I know. It's just…."

Louis nodded, too. "I know."

They sat in silence for a short while. Louis closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again to look over at Harry.

Harry's eyes were closed. His skin was pale, and there were bags under his eyes. Louis knew Harry wasn't sleeping well, mostly because he wasn't, either. Their friends and family--well., Harry's family--all kept reminding him and Harry that they needed to take advantage of this time before the babies came home to rest up. Once Jamie and Ella were home, their opportunities to sleep would be drastically reduced.

It was so hard to sleep, though, when the twins were in such precarious condition. He and Harry had spent a great deal of time doing research on premature babies, and there was so much information swimming through Louis' brain, he knew the same had to be true for Harry. It all made shutting down the brain to rest kind of difficult.

Harry must have felt Louis' eyes on him. He smiled softly before slowly opening his own eyes to gaze over at Louis.

At Harry's smile, Louis felt a rush of something wash over him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it felt warm and comfortable, like nothing he'd ever felt before. Or, at least, like nothing he remembered feeling before.

He must have had quite the strange look on his face because Harry scrunched up his own and asked, "What?"

Louis smiled and shook his head.

Harry shook his, too. "No. Don't do that. What is it? Did you remember something?" Louis loved that Harry continued to ask that question, even after months of a negative response each and every time.

"Kind of," Louis answered. "But not the way you mean."

Harry shook his head once more. "How then?"

Louis needed a moment to collect his thoughts and find just the right words to express what he meant. Finally, he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I remembered that I have never felt the way I feel right now with anyone ever before."

"How do you feel right now?" Harry inquired, his entire attention on Louis.

Louis inhaled and exhaled yet again. "Comfortable. Happy."

Confusion bloomed on Harry's face. "You've never felt comfortable or happy with someone before? I find that hard to believe. You and your family were always close…. Well, until you came out. And you told me once that Hannah wasn't just your girlfriend, but was your best friend."

Louis was beginning to feel a little like a bobble head doll with all the head shaking he was doing. "It wasn't like this. It wasn't like what I feel here. With…you."

Louis didn't miss the blush which swiftly moved up Harry's neck and into his cheeks. "Really?" Harry squeaked. He cleared his throat and tried to speak in a more normal voice. "Really?"

"Really," Louis confirmed. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you, with our children, taking care of our children. I can't imagine being happier than I am right now."

Even as tired as he was and as surprised as he seemed by Louis' declaration, Harry beamed from ear to ear. He said nothing, though, apparently stricken speechless by the sentiment Louis had expressed.

When Harry continued not to say anything, Louis prodded him for a reaction. "What are you thinking?"

Harry audibly inhaled and exhaled. Louis associated the sound with Harry attempting to centre himself, having been witness to this many times since moving back in with him. Louis knew Harry needed time to compose himself enough to speak properly. He needed another several moments, then at last he said, "I've been waiting since last September to hear you say that."

Louis smiled. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

Harry shrugged and gave him a warm smile. "Got there in the end, yeah?"

Louis responded with a nod and returned Harry's smile.

A yawn escaped Harry's mouth just then, breaking the mood, but making them laugh nonetheless.

"You should nap while they're napping," Louis recited a suggestion they'd heard many times since Jamie and Ella were born.

Harry sighed with resignation. "You're right." He pushed himself up out of his chair and shuffled over to one of the two beds the room contained.

As Harry slipped off his shoes and climbed under the sheet and blanket on the hospital bed closest to the window, he looked back over to Louis and prompted, "You should nap some, too."

Harry's yawn was clearly contagious, as one overtook Louis right that second. "I think I will."

Louis started to head for the second bed in the room, but then, still feeling the emotion from his revelation, he decided to bypass it, stopping at the side of the bed Harry was trying to get comfortable in.

Harry looked up at him, surprised.

"Mind if I join you?" Louis asked shyly.

In reply, Harry shifted to his side and shuffled over to the far side of the bed, leaving enough room for Louis to sidle in behind him. Without thinking too much about it, Louis reached out to pull Harry into his arms. Harry went willingly. It was the first time they had been truly close since Louis had woken up in the hospital missing five years of his life.

"I feel that way, too," Harry whispered.

"What?" Louis whispered back.

"Comfortable. Happy."

Louis grinned into Harry's shoulder. "I'm glad."

"Sleep good, Louis."

Harry's wish was Louis' command.

_HARRY_

Spring was in the air as Harry and Louis made their way into the hospital. May had just begun, and the air was warm and redolent with the smell of the flowers blooming in the pots lining the hospital entrance.

They stopped, as always, at reception to sign in, greeting the receptionist, Helen, by name. The second she handed them their visitor passes, they grabbed each other's hands and made a beeline for the lift up to the NICU and their nine-week-old babies.

Dr. Goddard was there when they walked into the ward. She was tending to one of the newer babies, a little girl called Charlotte, but she looked up and beamed at Harry and Louis as they walked over to where the twins lay.

Jamie was awake when they stopped at his isolette. He was only hooked up to one monitor--this one keeping track of his breathing; it would set off an alarm if he forgot to breathe. As it was a portable device, it was easy for Harry to lift Jamie out of the isolette and into his arms. "Good morning, Jamie-Bug."

Jamie looked up at Harry trustingly, knowing his Daddy without question.

"This one's still asleep," Louis commented, gazing down at Ella. She, too, was only hooked up to a breathing monitor. They were both eating really well, and they had been breathing for quite a while without the ventilators.

Harry looked over at their little girl and grinned as her tiny hands and feet started to windmill, a sure sign she was waking up. "Not for long."

When Ella opened her eyes and started to squall, Louis expertly picked her up. "Ella-Belle, love. No crying now."

Ella quieted almost immediately in her Papa's arms. "There we go," Louis cooed. "Good morning, sweetheart."

Dr. Goddard appeared just then, still smiling for the pair of young fathers. "Good morning, Harry. Louis."

"Good morning," they chorused.

"I have good news for you," she told them.

"Oh?" Harry said, instantly curious.

"Yes," the doctor confirmed. "I believe that Master Jamie and Mademoiselle Ella are just about ready to come home."

"Really?" Louis inquired, wide-eyed, but clearly trying to keep his excitement in check.

"Indeed. They're eating really well, and they've both passed the five-pound mark, and while they're still setting off their breathing monitors, it's infrequent enough that I think you can handle it at home."

Harry could not keep from grinning ear to ear, and when he looked over at Louis, he could see that Louis was beaming, too. They had been waiting weeks and weeks for this news.

"When can we take them?" Harry wondered aloud.

Dr. Goddard replied, "Assuming there are no mishaps between now and tomorrow morning, I'm prepared to release them first thing tomorrow."

"That's terrific news!" Louis exclaimed. "Thank you, Dr. Goddard."

"You boys are a big part of why they're heading home a week before their due date," she pointed out. "You being here every day, being a part of their care right from the beginning. That's what these preemie babies really need, a lot of love and encouragement."

Harry smiled at her, then down at Jamie and over at Ella. "Nowhere else we wanted to be than with these two."

"Congratulations, family," Dr. Goddard said.

"Thank you," Harry returned with the most utter sincerity he'd ever felt.

Jamie began fussing in Harry's arms, and Harry knew exactly what he wanted. When she heard Jamie fussing, Ella began to fuss right along with him. It was time for breakfast!

"I'll get their bottles for you," Dr. Goddard offered.

Harry and Louis sat down in side by side rocking chairs and the second their lips touched the tips of their bottles, Jamie and Ella quieted down.

Once Jamie was contentedly feeding, Harry looked over to Louis. "I can't believe they're coming home."

"Finally," Louis concurred.

It was in amiable silence that they fed the twins the rest of their bottles. It took Ella a bit longer than it took Jamie--in many ways she was still playing a little catch up--but they finished the entirety of their bottles like tiny champs.

When they were done feeding the babies, Harry and Louis changed them and lay them down for a nap. Ella went out like a light right away, and Jamie followed soon after.

As Louis stood stroking the back of his index finger gently down Ella's face, Harry sidled up next to him. "We should head out. There's so much to do today."

Louis' gaze lifted from Ella's face to Harry's. "Oh?"

Harry nodded firmly. "We need to contact my mum, Gemma, Niall, and Liam, and let them know Jamie and Ella are coming home. They'll want to be there. And we need to make sure we have everything they're going to need once they're home."

Louis grinned. "Does that mean we can go shopping?"

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You don't remember how much you loved shopping, do you?"

"I have always loved shopping," Louis replied. "I guess that stayed the same even after we formed One Direction."

"Right." It sucked that no matter how long the passage of time, Louis' memory had yet to recover.

Louis reached for Harry's hand and squeezed. "Let's go, then. The sooner we get ready for them, the sooner it will be time to bring them home."

"Okay, then. Let's go."

* * *

The twins greeted their first welcoming committee with aplomb. Even though they had not, in their nine weeks in the world, been passed around from person to person to person very much, they handled it well, only starting to get fussy and restless when it got to be time to be fed or changed.

When dusk arrived, Jamie and Ella's grandma, grandpas, aunt, and uncles all departed with promises to be back the next day to help out however they could, though Harry knew they just wanted an excuse to be able to coo at the twins a little more.

Harry and Louis fed and changed Jamie and Ella, then lay them down to sleep, one in each of the bassinets they'd situated in their bedroom. They had agreed to go to bed when the babies did in an attempt to get as much sleep as possible, but it was difficult leaving the view in the side-by-side bassinets.

"They're so beautiful," Louis whispered.

Harry smiled. "And they're finally home. When they were born, I really thought that might never happen."

"You're not still blaming yourself, are you?" Louis checked, his tone a little appalled.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe just a little."

Louis moved to stand behind Harry and wrap his arms around Harry's waist. It was a little awkward with the height difference--Louis was a couple inches shorter than Harry--but they'd always made it work, and this was no exception. "You need to stop, Harry. You didn't do anything to make them come early, and they're fine. They're more than fine. They're amazing. For that matter, you're amazing."

Harry turned around in Louis' arms, wrapping his own around Louis' back. Wryly, he returned, "You're not so bad yourself."

"Thanks, but I'm serious," Louis insisted. "You're amazing. Without you, they wouldn't be here at all."

Without any warning, then, Louis tilted his face up and captured Harry's lips with his own. It was the first kiss they'd shared since before they'd climbed in the car to head home from visiting his family.

Louis' lips tasted just as Harry remembered, vaguely of tea and chocolate. There was no taste of smoke, though. Louis hadn't picked up a cigarette since waking up from his coma. That was going to take a little getting used to.

All thought left Harry's brain as Louis' tongue pushed between Harry's lips. Harry let his venture into Louis'. Then he let himself get lost in the kiss. It was warm, sweet, and passionate all at once. It sent shivers down Harry's spine and made his toes curl, and it was all he'd wanted since the accident. 

Eventually, though, they had to part for breath and, with reluctance, Harry pulled away from Louis.

"Was that okay?" Louis asked nervously, as Harry breathed deeply, recovering from the surprise liplock.

Harry drew in a little more air, then responded, "That was more than okay. Talk about amazing…."

Louis smiled, and Harry couldn't help but smile back, feeling a connection snap back into place.

Louis gazed back down at Jamie and Ella, both peacefully snoozing away. "We should get some sleep. They'll be back up before we know it." He walked around to the other side of the bed and shut off the lamp, then came back around the bed to hold out a hand to Harry.

Harry shut off the other lamp before taking the proffered hand.

Now bathed in moonlight, Louis pulled Harry toward the bed and climbed in first, scooting over so Harry could slide in beside him. Without any preamble, Louis gathered Harry into his arms--a first at home in their bed--and Harry went as willingly as he had back at the hospital, snuggling his back into Louis' chest.

"Harry?" Louis whispered, his mouth right near Harry's ear. The sensation sent a shockwave through Harry.

"What?" Harry whispered back.

"I love you."

Three words were all it took for Harry's world to be sewn back together. There was no more Before and After. There was only Now.

End (23 January 2016)


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